The Likos, The Kyon, and Fate
by Eli H. Lee
Summary: A likos, a wolf, is often not a welcoming sight for humans. A kyon, a dog, however is. Fate though will always strikes at odd times and Steele has started to learn that lesson.
1. Chapter 1

Everything and everyone belongs to their rightful owners. OCs belong to me in the end. No ifs, ands, or buts. Warning, there will be the f- bomb.

Leopard the Warrior of Africa

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><p>It was a cold winter's night as he walked through Nome's streets, his white paws making almost no sound through the snow. His ice blue eyes focused on the out that sat just outside of town, closest to the now dead woods. His jet black fur, now coating with the falling snow, kept him safe from the cold as he kept heading towards his destination. As everyone in this town, this once sled race champion was Steele, a once proud Alaskan malamute who craved fame and popularity and was now hated by all of the other canines in Nome. ("Why?" you may ask. Well if you're asking that, why the hell are you reading a fan story on the Balto movie if you haven't watched the Balto movie?) His punishment was that now. For what he did, he got the opposite of what he wanted. Steele was now shamed, without friends, the bottom of the pack pile (pun intended), and was left with no more than what was left with his dignity.<p>

But… he still wasn't alone. He still had his owner (who was REALLY disappointed in him), he was on a new sled team (he used to be in the back, but he's managed to make his way up to at least the middle), and then there's his "lean-on," which was why he was out here, almost near the middle of the night, heading to the outmost house in Nome.

_Why the fuck am I still doing this?_ Steele yelled this question mentally to himself. _She's nothing special, if anything she's as bad as I was. This is all just getting in the way of me getting back on top. _

He reached the fence and looked around for the broken plank that always lead into the yard. While doing this, a little, not much noticeable part of his head replied back. _**Because you have no other choice. **_

_Yes I do, I can just turn around and go back to my warm dog bed right now! In fact, why don't I do that right now!?_

_**Because you're addicted. It's like catnip to a cat, you keep coming back but you can only stand being around the cause of the high for only so long. **_He found the opening and squeezed through. _I 'm NOT addicted. I just… __**Can't stop coming back. Have no one else to turn to. She may not like you, just like everyone else hates you, but she still listens. **__Oh please, I can find some other mutt to talk all this stuff out. __**True, but then that mutt would tell someone else. **__…. Shut Up. _He climbed up the steps that led up to the back door before taking in a calm, deep, breath. _**You couldn't even avoid the addiction in the first place. **__Hey, I COULD have avoided her, I could have! I even considered it when I first saw that moving truck! __**But would you have avoided if you could go back? **_Steele closed his closed his eyes at that thought. Boy, did he remember that all too well. All too well enough that it probably was nowhere near good.

_How was I supposed to know that she was like that? Huh? I thought she was just another pathetic little wolf dog that moving in! I didn't expect for a full blown on wolf that was confused for a dog! __**You didn't answer the question. **__I…__** You wouldn't would you? You would go through this addiction of coming out here and talking to her all over again. **__I hate you, you know that? __**You know that means you're hating yourself.**__ Shut up! _

"Steele?"

Steele opened his eyes to look at the huge, well-built female in front of him. Her fur was a medium brown with a mix of dark tan, with her underbelly being a very light brown cream that was almost white and the area around her almond shaped bright blue-green eyes looking like a dark grey to pencil black. Around her neck was a dark green ribbon her old owner uses as her collar. On her nose bridge were four scars while on her front right leg, almost on her paw was a big scar. If one was to take only one look at her, like Steele had at first the moment she and her owner had moved into Nome, they would have thought of her as either a really large dog mutt or a wolf dog at best. Many of the other dogs even thought she was at most a wolf dog, not the full blown she-wolf she really was. Steele stared at her for a moment as he tried to get his thoughts together. He had never thought her as a beauty, not when he first saw her, and defiantly not now. She wasn't even pretty by many dog standards, in fact she was considered very unappealing. He did wonder though, were those scars really from badgers like she told him the first and only time he asked? What was the name her pack gave her when she was still living in the woods?

_Why am I even bothering myself with these thoughts?_

"Steele, what's bringing you here this time? Sonya's not giving you enough credit you think you deserve again? You know we've both talked about that. You keep giving yourself too much to glorify about," she chuckled, giving a smile that almost made Steele chuckle as well. _She's always has been the only one I know to not look good smiling. _He focused on the lower tooth that always stuck out while she was quiet, which was usually most of the time as her mouth turned into an unamused frown. "Seriously, what's going on now?"

"Ayana… I… um." He didn't even know what her owner had been thinking when he had named this female in front of him "beautiful flower."

"What? Come on, spit it out."

"I must be a snowflake, because I've fallen for you." He put on his best smile, trying to look as charming as he used to in his "glory-hound" days. Ayana looked at him unamused still to an untrained eye, but he could see the struggling of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

"And this is why that pipsqueak bloodhound said no to a date."

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><p>Ok, I want to state that, YES I seriously, for real, just had Steele flirt with a wolf. Not even a wolf dog, a wolf. Get over it.<p>

Before any of you decide that my oc Ayana here (yes I know, cruel of me to name her that) is any Mary-Sue character, (because no matter how many people there are who reads a story, there will always be one saying out Mary Sue in either review, mind, or in a loud, public mall center, or all of the above) I have put her through Mary Sue tests. I have redesigned her character over and over again. I have yet to get her to the point of over 5. I have not ever had her reach 5. (and yes I am bothering with this.)

For those of you who want to know how everyone in town(s) thinks she is a dog or half dog, first of, everyone in town…. Were you not reading the chapter above?

What about a vet? What about her owner? One and same question. For one thing, her owner is an old man who's a vet with a son who's a hunter (yeah, yeah, yeah, irony there. Ha-ha.) One of them is going to know and tell the other. And I have looked this up for this story, you can own a wolf and/or wolf dog in Alaska, if you have a permit. (Apparently, Nevada's the only state where it's a state law that owning a wolf is legal. Wolf dogs not a problems for some of the other states, just the whole wolf thing. It's still pretty safe to own a permit in many cases.) So yes, I did do the research, BOTH her owner and his son both have a permit for owning her, they might tell the _some _of the town about it later. Please don't bug me about it.

As for the story? I hate to admit this, but I might be going on a bunch of one shots that are just tagged along in some way. Some of us have to admit it now and then though that a stream of one shots can be made into its own story. So, please review, if you have any ideas you can to post or questions that don't involve how a wolf can be owned in Alaska, go ahead and post it.


	2. Chapter 2

Again, I only own OCs.

Leopard the Warrior of Africa

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><p>"Come on Steele! You're slowing us down!"<p>

Steele just growled as he pushed forward, trying to gain up speed with the rest of the team. In front of him were three other sled dogs, Tenino, Tupit, Sonya, and Alpha, while behind him where the twins Salina and Coal. The twins were black huskies with blue collars and the only difference besides gender was that Salina had brown eyes and Coal had orange eyes. Tupit was a brown American husky with darker brown eyes with a green collar while Tupit was a large purebred Saint Bernard with blue eyes and a red collar. Sonya was a perky black malamute female with brown eyes and a violet collar, in front of her being Alpha, a Chow-Chow/Husky mix with amber brown eyes and a ginger and white coat. Beside Steele was a small male husky named Toby with gray fur, blue eyes, and a tan collar.

"Steele! Hurry up! They're catching up on us!"

Steele looked to the dog sled that was starting to pass by them, his ice blue eyes glaring at the feet of the competition. "They're not gonna be for long…." He growled before biting at a random rival dog, one of the oldest tricks in his racing book that he used. The dog naturally tried, and cause that team to fall over each other as a result.

It was only a matter of around 10 and 20 minutes until the team entered town and crossed the finish line. The moment the dogs were let out of their harnesses, Alpha was glaring down at Steele in an alleyway. Beside him, Sonya stood by as the rest of the team went off.

"Vhat have I told you about ze dirty trick, Steele?" Alpha growled, his thick fur on the back of his neck bristling, making his look very much like a husky patterned bear. Steele glared back, putting on his usual sneer, stating, "If I didn't use it, Alpha, we would have lost the race."

"Or you could have just quickened your pace, and there would have been no cheating necessary," Sonya barked, her voice sharp. Alpha glanced at her before glaring back at Steele. "Well Missy, sorry that I happened to not be fast enough for today's pace."

"You keep zis up, pretty boy, you get off team. No matter reason." Alpha's growl was followed by a stomp on Steele's foot before the male canine left. Steele sneered again, his eyes narrowed as he went to leave the alleyway as well before Sonya's words stopped him.

"You're not the same mighty purebred you were, Steele." Sonya walked past him, grinning as her small paws padded past him. "Welcome to the Underdogs, where you are now almost nothing if it weren't for Toby and Tupit being to forgiving and trustful while also being able to pull a few strings." Steele turned his head quickly at that, furiously thinking if he should attack. "Oh, you thought you got on the team due to your 'skills'? Sorry, Inky, but I have crash your little dream."

…..

"And then that little witch goes ahead and said that the gray mutt and giant spotted bear just pulled some loose strings to get me on the team just because they took pity on me!"

Steele paced furiously back and forth as he snarled all this to Ayanna. They were a bit outside of town, far enough that Ayanna could smell the nearby forests while Steele was close enough to town to feel his usual self. Ayanna laid down on her side as she watched the purebred in this state and waited until he was breathing more normally before speaking. "Tupit and Toby were probably thinking that you deserved another chance at racing. You should take this opportunity to turn around on your life. Figuratively saying of course," she spoke lifting her head from her paws. Steele huffed as he looked to her before he resumed pacing.

"Easy for you to say. You were never there, as per usual when all of this happens."

"Even if I was there, Steele, if I was to see you and your team's alpha male and female having a talk with you, I still only observe and leave it until you came to me." Steele glared over at her and walked towards Ayanna. "Should I even ask why on that?" The she-wolf turned her right ear slightly as she looked at him. Getting up she shook her fur to get rid of the snow that stuck to it and took a moment of silence and think. Steele spoke up again.

"Let me guess, so I could learn my 'lesson' from Mr. Big and In Charge and his little missy, or is it because you always seem to have it in your head that I started it first?" Ayanna glanced over at him, her expression blank as usual.

"Well, didn't you use what Alpha called 'ze dirty trick'?" she asked, tilting her head. Steele growled and stepped forward, barking, "Hey look, they wanted to win as much as I did. I was doing them a favo- wait…" Ayanna waited as Steele thought at that moment. "How did you..? You were there! You did see Alpha and Sonya having a talk with me!"

"I said 'if.' I never did say I was not there."

"Why you little-"

"'Little?' Sonya is 'little,' Steele, not I. I never understand when you say that to me. You and I are practically the same height."

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" Steele yelled, his breathing becoming heavily. Like before, Ayanna waited for his breathing to come down. "Why wouldn't… no, why _**didn't **_you do anything?" The brown wolf's eyes looked away as the male malamute still glared at her.

"I've learned it's usually not best to meddle in conversations that alphas have privately with their pack mates," she said focusing her gaze at the snow. Steele's glare lightened up a little and he sighed, finally sitting down.

"You seriously need to stop comparing us sled dogs and our teams with those old wolf packs of yours, Ayanna," he said, before looking towards town. His own icy glaze caught many of the other dogs walking around town and noticed few of them stopping and looking at something, hoping the sight wasn't Ayanna and himself. _Why do I even bother still? _

"Maybe you should have a wider mind on things in life." Steele looked back at his frie- no, '_talk-to lean-on acquaint' _and shook his head.

"That wouldn't make me talk to you then, would it?" he replied, added his usual sneer into it before laying down in the snow. Ayanna huffed and stretched.

"Oh, that would depend, my _illamar_." Ayanna's gaze was back to him, this time accompanied by an uneasy smile and her walking back towards town. "Come on, your 'fans' are glancing this way." Steele scrunched up his face as if he ate something sour and followed her back to town. As they entered, Steele flicked his ears away from the other dogs and refused to look at any of them as he went back home.

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><p>Nothing more to say than… please review.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Again, I only own Ocs.

Leopard the Warrior of Africa (btw, might change my pen name sometime soon. Any ideas for a new one?)

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><p>"So, what was the point of all that?"<p>

Steele looked back at Ayanna when she asked this, the two of them going back to town after having a small race in the woods. He smirked and held his head high. "I wanted to see if you were any threat." Ayanna's usual unamused expression didn't change.

"For what?" she asked, now only raising an eyebrow.

"In case you ever decided to take up sled racing. And it is very clear you are no such threat."

"Why would I even _want _race with more of your disgusting kind? I can tolerate you, but I'd prefer it if everyone just left me alone," she stated, trotting up beside him. Steele looked at her wide eyed at this.

"Well, for one, a sled is practically part of a dog's life in Nome. There's very few who sled dogs aren't after all. Racing comes as second nature after that," he said, only getting an eye roll from the scarred up wolf. "The rush of it all, and to lead the team, to cross over the finish line in first place! The adrenaline rushing through your veins as you keep coming on top! And you just going up in the ranks, up in the being the lead dog of the most successful racing team in all of Nome!" Ayana's expression turned from annoyance and unamused to concern as Steele went rambling on. "You start to feel invincible! You feel as if nothing can ever get by you! Nothing can take you by surprise! You become the practical lead dog on the entire town in the mindset!"

"And then you go down once your ego gets too high for you to check up on," she said, examining Steele's expression carefully. The words had seemed to wake Steele up to reality. The whole mindset, the whole memory of being malamute he had once been, the top dog, the one who could have any mate he wanted, the Steele that won every race and challenge set out in front of him, was just that now. A memory thanks to his choice on the serum run on not accepting Balto's help. Now, he was just Steele, Nome's outcast, and working to reach the top all over again. His expression changed from glee and joy to sadness and, for the first time in a long while, regret. He turned his head away, no longer holding it high in dignity.

Ayanna nudged him a bit before sitting down. Steele looked at her and laid down. "So, um…" Ayanna looked around as she spoke. "What were your parents like?" Steele gave her a questioning look, not understanding the change of subject. "Why does this have to do with anything?" he asked, earning a '_just go with it_' look from her.

"Well, since most of the town thinks I'm either a wolf-dog or just a plain, wild looking dog like yourself and others, I might as well know how parents act with their pups."

Steele shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well, my mother was a pretty red and white malamute…"

"Explains a lot about your attraction to Jenna."

"Oh shut it. Anyways, she was a sled race dog and she would always tell me and my littermates what it was like and how amazing it was. She wasn't her team's lead dog in anyway, but it was just great every time she let us watch her and her team practice. She would always give me baths, and let me eat the leftovers, and play with my favorite blanky that I called Chewy…"

"You had a blanket you called Chewy?" Ayanna asked, giggling at the thought of the giant malamute cuddling up on a tiny blanket used to wrap a puppy in.

"I was teething! It was very soft too. My younger sister Eze and I would always fight over it until Mother settled that problem," Steele huffed turning his head away with his nose in the air. "Who would often win until she stepped in?" the female nest to him asked, smiling just to give him the creeps. Steele's ears went back and he started to look embarrassed.

"Eze would…."

Ayanna burst out laughing at that, making Steele give a slight a look of shock as he turned his head to her. He had only heard her laugh once before and that was when they had first met. His surprise quickly turned into annoyance as he quickly turned his head away. "It's not funny…."

"You lost to your baby sister over a blanket!? That's just… that is just tragically hilarious!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, big deal. Now will you stop rubbing it in?" Ayanna placed a paw to her mouth, careful not to scratch it against her bottom tooth that always stuck out and quieted down her laughter to little giggles. Steele continued on. "Either way, I spent a lot of time with my mother and the only thing I got from her was her eyes." The black and white canine smiled at the thought. "She would always brag about that to my father. He always claimed that most of my littermates and I took so such of our looks from him, heck, two of my brothers and one of my sisters looked just like lighter copies of him, but Mother always said that her eyes got past down to me and some of my sisters." Ayanna's laughter quieted down fully now as she smiled truly at the thoughtful expression on Steele's face.

"My father on the other hand... err… paw, was a black and white malamute, with the darkest brown eyes I can ever remember seeing in my life. Now **he** was the lead sled dog on his team when Mother wasn't telling us about her sled team when we asked about it, he would always brag it. I guess you could say that I … might have gotten a bit of his showiness, I suppose."

"'Might have'?"

"Ok, ok, I inherited a lot from my father!" Steele said, pushing Ayanna's side in a teasing jester. "Besides that, it was mostly only my Mother that was involved with raising my littermates and I. My father often visited and about at eight weeks old or so we were sold to our new families with Mother visiting us often and Father just… stopped." Silence filled the air between the two of them as Ayanna processed all this in her mind while Steele thought through his entire puppyhood before shaking his head and looking at Ayanna again. "So, what about your parents?"

The wolf looked at him before averting her eyes. "Oh come on, I told you about mine, you might as well tell me about yours," Steele barked, rolling onto his back out of boredom.

"Naturally both of my parents were wolves and I had a brother and a sister. My father was a pale tan colored wolf with a bluish gray underbelly and the usual golden amber eyes which both my brother and sister got and my mother had black fur, light gray underbelly and bluish eyes. I was raised like any wolf pup, mostly by the pack and elders. As for any family moments, I spent a lot of time with my father while my brother and sister spent more time with my mother. It wasn't any preference really. It was just easier for us to adapt to our roles in the pack that way." Steele looked confused and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Why? What roles?"

Ayanna laid down onto her stomach and placed her head on her large paws. "My mother was what the pack called a den mother, someone who was often looked upon like a … um… midwife you could say, as well as someone who takes in pups that other mother wolves can't care for as their own anymore and sets up a role of what most new mother look up to. My sister became one herself as well as a mother like any other den mother. My brother was considered nimble, therefore more of a scout-built image. That and he often related with my mother since he was always an Omega type wolf," she explained.

"And you?" Steele asked.

"Well, I was the biggest and tougher one of the three of us back then, had no interest in being a mother as a yearling, and my father was also a rather big wolf, so he helped me train to become one of the warriors for the pack. I hunted, I fought, and I relied on my strength to help keep the pack alive. Simple as that," she said, glaring at the snowy hills in the distance. Steele rolled back onto his stomach, his icy eyes trying to meet her blue-green ones.

"You said you had no interest in being a mother as a _yearling_. You changed your mind sometime later?" he asked, lifting his head in curiosity. Ayanna's expression soften as she closed her eyes and sighed. Steele got up and walked around to meet her face. "Ayanna?"

"A litter of three males and one female. The female was a dark brown color with a slightly lighter brown underbelly while one of the males was gray with a white underbelly. Another male was a medium, reddish brown with a pale white underbelly, and the last male was the darkest brown with a light blue gray underbelly." Ayanna smiled for a small moment, almost unnoticeable if Steele hadn't be studying her expression. "Their father had a very dark, almost black blue gray fur with a medium gray underbelly… he had faded hazel eyes… only the gray male had his eye color. The female and the reddish brown male had my eye color, but faded like her father's. Only the last male, the biggest one in fact, had true, non-faded blue eyes." Steele sat down, his mind taking this all in.

"Their names? The father? What happened?"

"I never named them. My sister did, and the father never knew. He died to illness. In fact, only my mother, my sister, and I who even knew of my pregnancy. My sister had a litter of her own shortly before mine, and I already had enough of the pity party everyone gave me, and the pack often degraded pups that were without one or both parents. My sister was to go to her mate's pack when her pups were able to travel, so I thought 'Maybe it would be best if they went with her to never be look down upon.' She already had a daughter that looked just like my biggest son but with only faded blue eyes. And the rest who have been thought to have inherited a grandparent's fur color. No one else would be the wiser. Once the pups were all ready to travel, my sister went to her mate's pack with them… and that was it."

Ayanna sighed deeply and stared at her paws. "Haven't you ever thought of going back to see what they've become now?" Steele asked, nudging the side of her face with his nose. "Haven't you ever thought of finally telling them the truth once you had the chance?" Ayanna looked at his, her eyes narrowed.

"No… it'd be best if I never went back, Steele."

"What about your father? Your brother? Shouldn't they know? Since, I don't know, your father's the grandfather and your brother's the uncle?"

"If it was earlier, maybe. But it's too late now. If I went back there to tell them, not only would I shame them for deceiving them for so long but to reveal what I am now? A scared up ex-fighter who is now living under a human's roof? I would be disgracing my father, my mother, my ancestors… if I went back and revealed all of this."

"Ayanna…"

"No Steele." Ayanna stood up, her and Steele's eyes meeting. "I can't… even if I wanted to."

They both stood silent for a moment, the tension passing with each minute. Ayanna gave up on staring and began walking back to town, with Steele soon following her. "So, just by any chance… what was your name back in the pack?"

Ayanna glanced at him before softening her gaze. "Aklark. My parents thought I looked so much like a brown bear at first that they thought it was perfect."

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><p>Yeah…. About all of that, um, I wanted to clarify on what I thought Steele's parents were like and what Ayanna's life in her old wolf pack was like. And I'm sorry if Steele seemed OOC near the end, but given the fact that trying to write him like that and still stick with his character is tough. As for Steele's little speech on sled racing, I thought it fit him. He's always occurred to me as someone who, while being a sore loser and who will do anything to keep winning, would be passionate about what he does. And Steele is a sled dog who races. Whenever I see the beginning of Balto where Steele uses his cheating trick to win, when he makes that tired yet determined smile when he glances back to where the sled racer is yelling his name, I see someone who loves what he does, even if he cheats his way there, and I wanted to bring that side of Steele I saw as a kid and even now out in this chapter. And as for Steele's parents, I got tired of seeing fan versions of a female black malamute or husky with blue eyes as his mother and I wanted to add my two cents. As for Ayanna, I added a lot of her telling her parents and her pups to not give any tragic past (and if I was to give Ayanna a tragic past on purpose this would be rated M and everyone in this story would be a furry) but to also add to her character. As for her birth name being Aklark… that actually came from drawing her so many times. Any time I drew her or thought about her, it always make her look very big, very furry, and her original designed had her have more rounded ears that made her look much like a bear. And since her fur color was a shade of brown, it just made sense for her name to mean "brown bear." Sorry for the ramble, thank you for reading, and please review.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Again, I only own OCs. This chapter, just for the change of pace for a moment, is focused mostly on Ayanna and her mind set.

Leopard the Warrior of Africa

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><p>Ayanna walked back towards town with an Artic hare in her mouth. She knew she didn't need to hunt now as a pet, but it still felt nice to go and do something to remind her of her roots. Besides, her owner's son was visiting soon and it would be a nice gift for him. Her paws upturned the deep snow as she held her head high, as if she was showing someone her prize proudly. <em><strong>Well, aren't you starting to act like a glory-girl. <strong>__Oh please, I am acting nothing of the sort. __**Seems like Steele's starting to rub off on you.**__ He is not! I just happened to like holding my prey this way when carrying it. __**Keep telling yourself that. **_

Ayanna perked one of her ears up at the scent of other wolves. Sniffing, she turned her head towards it and looked to the hillside to see a small pack of about three or four looking back at her. Her ears fell flat against her fur as she met their gaze. Their amber stares made her uneasy, as if looking down on her for now acting as some human's pet. And to be true, she was now, wasn't she? And yet…

The conversation between her and Steele from a few weeks ago lit up in her head, her mind beginning to think on it all. _I could go back, probably make up some lie and be welcomed to the pack…__** Oh sure, as if that would work! **__Ok, so maybe not my original pack! Maybe... Maybe I should see what's become of Ada's and my pups. See where our litters got to in life. __**And what would happened when someone realizes of your pups among hers? What you say to them? Steele's getting too much thought into your head on this. **__Well, probably, but… __**And what would happen when YOUR probably-full-grown pups ask about their true father? What would you tell them about Siku? **__Enough! _

Ayanna looked away, closing her eyes and walking on and away from the other wolves. Their scents faded and she carried on back home. The she-wolf stopped for a second at the outskirts of town before looking back. The wolves were almost out of sight except for a familiar looking large dark brown male with a bluish gray underbelly who stared back at her before returning to the rest of his pack. She stood there, waiting to see if they were turn back at well before giving up and going into her yard. She dug up some of the snow and what was left of loose dirt before dropping the dead rabbit into it and burying it up. Ayanna sighed as she sat down, ignoring the cold wind that was blowing through her fur. _What would I tell them? _She thought, unsure of what she would actually say.

_**Everything you probably still remember of him. **_

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><p>Sorry that this was short, I really was just satisfied with how this ended the way it and couldn't think how to continue this chapter. I hope you like it and please review.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

I only own OCs… Warning: French/Quebec accent character within chapter!

Eli H. Lee (finally got a new pen name)

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><p>"I of course know you vere getting desperate for zee <em>Mademoiselles, <em>Steele, but you choose zee one who is, how do you say? No looker?" Tenino had approached Steel that day as the malamute was waiting outside the store for his owner to come out. The brown husky smirked as Steele glared at him.

"What the heck are you talking about, Frenchy?" he asked, sitting up and scratching the back of his ears. Tenino's face turned into a sneer at the comment, barking, "I am not French! I am Canadian! But of course, you vould not dare care to tell zee difference. Nor admit of you and _Mademoiselle _Ayanna being friendly."

"Friendly?"

"Zee little walks outside of zee town, zee talks, oh, and of course zee rumors zee _Mademoiselles _are spreading through town of you two. Why, one can only assume zee connection, but it is a good connection, no _Monsieur?_" Tenino's smirk returned quickly at this as Steele paused in the middle of scratching. The malamute turned his head quickly to growl lowly at his fellow team-mate.

"There is nothing going on between me and vet's pet, nor is there ever going to be. And you can tell the rest of those little gossipers to cut it out!" Steele's glare didn't seem to affect the husky in front of him as Tenino just kept smirking as he trotted past him.

"It is alright, Steele. Yours and _Mademoiselle_ Ayanna's secret is safe with _moi!_"

Steele sighed as he shook his head. Laying back down, the malamute continued to wait for his owner to come out of the store as he processed the entire conversation over again. _He's going to tell everyone he knows, I'm sure of it. Why the heck would anyone think that I would be interested in the wolf anyway? They all know I actually LIKE pretty females at least. __**Have faith in Tenino yet, glory-boy. You turn that ego down a bit. But you have to give him credit, he and those gossipy ones aren't stupid. You and Ayanna always do spend time alone together. **__Yeah right, but she's just someone I can relate to at the moment. She won't need me the more this town accepts her. And I won't need her once I get to the top again, above even Alpha and Sonya. __**Oh? Keep telling yourself that, because that's not what's going to happen. **__What makes you say that? __**You'll see when it hits you.**_

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><p>Ok, again, a short chapter, but I really do love little tidbits. Also, I realized that in the chapter where I first introduced the team Steele was one, I ended up with two descriptions for Tony. The brown American husky was supposed to be Tenino. I wanted to clear that up. And another thing about Tenino, since Alpha had a Russian accent, I gave Tenino a QuebecFrench accent. Why? Because I could, I did, and I didn't want only one foreign country accent to be in Nome. That and I cannot write an English accent. I'm sorry, I've tried, but I couldn't do it. I also took two years of French class so it was an actually easy accent to do once I got a little more information behind the Quebec accent. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

I only own OCs, and I am sorry for the long wait.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>They were still here. He had no idea why she even went to see if they had moved on away from the town, but the dang wolf pack from before was still here. Steele rolled his eyes mentally as he followed Ayanna to this pack she had seen a few days earlier. <em>Who knows, maybe she's thinking of leaving.<em>_** Oh well, if that happens, consider yourself doomed there.**__ Shut up! _

"So why are we doing this? I thought you already let go of your past," he asked, probably for the tenth time that trip. The she-wolf next to him sighed, like the first ten times, before answering the same.

"This is my final way of saying good-bye to it."

Silence went over them again as Steele looked around the forest. Spring was surprisingly late this year, as the snow was still thick and the wind was still cold and blowing today. The only thing he could tell that spring was either here or coming was because of the small flower buds and plants that have manage to dig themselves out of the snow. The pack itself was near a bunch of rocks near the edge of the forest they had just entered. The malamute bumped into Ayana's side when she stopped.

"Excuse me?"

All six wolves looked up at the two of them, making Steele a bit unsure of himself all of a sudden. The confusion on some of their faces were similar to the one Ayanna had once gave him when they had first met. If it hadn't been for that memory though, he would have wondered why like anyone else would have. Sadly, he very much remembered and he was not stupid. Steele knew, and had felt very insulted back then when he had first realized it, that if he didn't have his collar on, he looked very much like a well-groomed wolf to other wolves.

One of the older males, an old grey and white wolf with dark brownish hazel eyes, walked up and stood his ground as he looked at him Steel and Ayanna. "Yes?"

Ayanna spoke again, this time with a little more confidence than before, Steele noticed. "I wished to speak with the leader of the pack please."

"You are speaking to him. I am Nava."

"Very well then, Nava. I am … Ayanna and this is Steele. We wanted to ask why your pack as chosen to stay this close to … our owners' homes. It is dangerous unless you've no other choice of a home?"

Nava stared at Ayanna for a moment and then at Steele, making the sled dog very uncomfortable. "I'm sure," the elder began. "That you would understand that Niju here and I had wish to seek a friend of our before our new pack went off for another home. I must ask though why would a sled dog care for what a wolf's actions were…"

"Because she's obviously a wolf herself, Nava! She's probably trying to clear up her own disgrace by pretending to be a dog and wants us to move out!" The large dark brown and bluish gray male wolf with blue eyes yelled out from the back, making Ayanna look down at her paws in shame at being called such. Steele growled, his ears pulling back flat against his head.

"You better watch what you're saying, pup!" he barked, earning a growl back from the same male. "Steele!" Ayanna whispered, pulling the malamute back by his collar. "Think of what you're saying! We're outnumbered three to one! If we engage in a fight, we might as well lose our lives." Steele quiet downed, still glaring at the other male.

"Niju, when I said a dog caring about a wolf pack, I was talking about Ayanna's mate Steele here," Nava clarified, looking back at the same wolf. Ayanna's and Steele's uncomfortable glances at each other however cause Nava to say, "Or… friend."

"Yeah, sorry, but Ayanna's more of a… teacher, for me, Nava. That and she dragged me here." Steele corrected, now very much disturbed of the idea of even wolves thinking that the two of them were a couple. Nava nodded his head in apology with a small smile.

"I am very much sorry for both accounts. And also for Niju's remark. He's still getting used to change and he's still not taking if very well, even now."

A growl from Niju caused a quick glance towards him from both Ayanna and Steele. Now, however, Stele actually took note of how the younger canine looked before realizing he looked rather much like Ayanna. Nava continued. "However, while we will be staying for a while, would you like to join us for an evening? While we will be only temporary neighbors for the time being, getting to know one another is not a bad thing."

Steele shifted a bit uncomfortable. _Okay, okay, this guy is only offering a get-to-know evening. You can say no. You are not even a wolf. You can say no. __**Ah, but what about Ayanna? She is a wolf after all. She might NOT be able to say no like you.**_ Steele looked over at Ayanna, who seemed to be in a battle of her own mind as well. _**Looks like even her inner wolf has some charge left. **__Yeah, but knowing her, she'll let me leave when I want to. __**But would you leave her with these wolves alone without a reminder that she still has a home here?**__ …Well…ok, only if she stays. _

"Steele if you want to go ahead and go back to your owner, feel free to. I'll be here if you need me."

_DAMN IT! _

"No, no, no, no. I don't care if you're a wolf yourself, I am not going to leave this place without you leading me back home or following me back home!"

"Oh, how romantic!" One of the female wolves cooed, mistaking this all for some lovers' quarrel. Steele mentally face pawed himself.

"Dania, there's nothing romantic about any that," Niju mumbled, giving a bored looked at the white female wolf who said it. Dania looked at him and shrugged.

"Says the very one who practically needs a love life."

"I DO NOT NEED A LOVE LIFE!"

Steele leaned over to Ayanna, whispering meekly, "Please tell me your mate was never like that." Ayanna smiled amused at her companion before shaking her head.

"Siku was the exact opposite of me, Steele."

"Oh good, he probably got it from one of his grandparents then, how nice." Ayanna looked at Steele in a confused fashion before shaking her head again.

"Steele and I would love to join you and your pack for the evening, Alpha Nava."

…..

He knew he shouldn't make assumptions, his assumptions were rarely right anyways, but dang it, the Niju pup looked too similar to Ayanna now! In speaking of that very wolf, Steele glanced over to the brown wolf talking to Nava. _If it wasn't for her, I'd be at home in a nice warm little doggy bed with Chewy. __**Do you even hear yourself? And besides, if you'd wanted to go home so bad, why did you wanted to stay here?**__ So that she wouldn't forget about her present life! __**You care for her. **__I do not! I do not care about her! __**You're at a place where a wolf pack is, despite not wanting to be there yourself, just so that not only could she get a chance to let go of her past finally, but also for tonight that she can just take a glance at you and remember she has a life outside this pack! How can you NOT care about her!? **_

The black and white dog shook his head before sitting up. Glancing around again, Steele saw Niju a bit off, much closer to the inner forest. Thinking for a moment, Steele got up and went over to sit beside the dark brown wolf. Silence hung between the two before Niju spoke up. "What do you want, doggy?" Steele looked at him unamused at the nickname.

"Wondering why on earth you're over here when everyone else is back there with each other. Even Ayanna seems to be enjoying herself," he answered, looking back to see his companion laughing at something one of the reddish wolf twins said.

"You and that traitor are there. Or at least you were until you decided to come over here." Steele glared at Niju before breathing in and out for a few moments.

"So," Steele decided to change the subject for a moment. "Nava said that this is you two's new pack, huh?"

"Our last pack went over an ice bridge to follow caribou under the new leadership of a mutt named Aleu," the male beside him growled. Steele suddenly smirked at the name. Looks like he and this Niju guy could get along with something.

"Let me guess, wolf-dog hybrids, fathers' name Balto?"

"You know him?"

"He's the reason why I got stuck on bottom in the town and now working my way back up."

"I hated him."

"So did I."

"Nava thinks that seeing me might help me get over it."

"Ayanna's been listening to me to help me get for of a stress level problem over with."

"I am kind of grateful for it all though. I mean, Nava and I've met Dania and her little pack and I've kind of gotten close with her sister Kiva and all."

"I hate to admit it, but it's kind of nice having Ayanna around. She's… almost the closest thing to a friend I've had for some time."

Both canines looked at each other, two different shades of blue meeting each other. Steele smirked a little, causing Niju to give an uneasy smile back before laying his head down again. The malamute suddenly found himself wanting to laugh at the idea of how similar he and this younger wolf were.

"I still hate him though."

"So do I."

It was like meeting the other side of the mirror. Steele still smirked at this, knowing that this all was probably making Niju uncomfortable. But, hey, might as well go ahead with his little assumption here as well. But first, just to check…

"So, what was your mother like?" he asked, laying down beside Niju. The large wolf narrowed his eyes, as if the uncomfortableness had grown heavier.

"Should I ask why you even care?" Steele chuckled and jerked his head towards Ayanna.

"The Madame has taught me a few things. Talking out some of one's past was one of them."

Niju sighed, and stared back to the rest of the pack. "I thought I knew my mother. It wasn't until Nava told me and 'half' of my litter mates after her death. To be truthful, I thought he was trying to test us or something." Steele raised his head.

"What made you think otherwise?"

"I started to notice the difference my brothers, sister, and I had compared to the pack. Storm was ok, really, he just had markings that were a bit off. Isi, Taku, and I were the big differences. Isi was the second darkest in the pack, second to me really. Taku was too reddish brown with a white underbelly and too faded blue eyes. And as for me…" Niju looked down at himself. "Only a cousin of mine looked anything like me." Steele gave a concerned expression before nudging him. The wolf swiped his paw at some dirt. "I began putting distrust at Nava afterwards for not telling me sooner." Steele thought more a moment, not sure exactly if he should go along with his assumption.

"I may be wrong, but… how about you go look at yourself again and then at the little 'traitor' you happen to not like either?" he said, observing as the young adult did so. When Niju looked at him again, Steele could see the confusion. "It's only an assumption but… Ayanna told me once that she gave her pups up to her sister after her mate's death so that they won't be looked down upon… you pretty much fit the description she gave of the largest pup in that litter. Again, I could be wrong. But… maybe if you go talk to her and the two of you discuss things over a bit, you may be surprised," Steele got up and began to walk away when Niju stopped him.

"Why do you even care?" the wolf glared at him with his blue eyes. Steele smiled and walking off again.

"Again, As much as I still hate Balto, both he and Ayanna have pretty much help me a lot. Things change." As Steele approached Ayanna and the rest of Nava's and Niju's pack, he jerked his head towards Niju. The she-wolf looked confused before turning to look at the younger one. A small frown formed on her face before the expression a guilt caused her to not meet the questioning blue eyes that were trying to meet hers. Steele nudged her cheek.

"I hate to be all cliché here, but… maybe now, or maybe never," he said before Ayanna got up and went over to Niju. The gray and brown female, Kiva, if Steele remembered correctly, raised an eyebrow at the scene.

"What was that all about?" she asked, looking at Steele. The black and white sled dog just smiled and laid down next to where Ayanna had.

"Let's just say it was my way of paying Ayanna back."

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><p>Yeah….. um… No idea where I actually had this idea really. Please review.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Well, you get the drill. I only own OCs.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>Nava, Niju, and their new pack left during the same week. Either way, with only the amount of time they both had with the members, Steele felt his ears go back as he watched Ayanna sit on the hill in the distance. He wasn't sure how long she had been there, gazing out to where the pack had gone to, but the idea of her sitting there for three days slightly unnerved the malamute. Walking up to her, he felt unsure if it was a wise decision to comfort his friend. <em><strong>Oh, so you're finally admitting that you two are friends. Congratulations, thick-head. <strong>__Oh shut it. _

"Ayanna?"

The she-wolf didn't move, the snow sticking to her fur as the wind kept blowing. If Steele hadn't see one of her ears move, he would have thought she hadn't heard him.

"Ayanna, come on."

A twitch of a tail was his response. Steele sighed and walked up next to her, looking aside at her face. Her blank expression didn't surprise him, he's been used to it plenty of time when she often listens to him goon about a race and all. Her eyes however, seemed darker than usual and much warmer. The sled dog nudged her cheek, only to feel her turn her head away.

"You can't just sit here. You stand it, yourself, you wanted to let go of your past and the pack was to be your last way of letting it go! You can't just keep sitting here waiting for them to retu- oof!" Steele's ice blue widen as Ayanna rubbed her head into the thicker fur around his neck. It took him some seconds to register that this was shockingly the only time he ever knew Ayanna crying. She wasn't sobbing, but he could feel the tears running from her eyes and onto his neck now.

"The pride in himself and his own pack, having no fear of death, the fear of change itself… he's so much like his father…"

Steele's ears went back before giving a look of concern and looking down at her with a little more of a joking look added. "Actually, I was under the idea that Niju took more after you, really." He smiled when he heard her chuckled.

"I guess he took only Siku's coloration in looks," she replied, a small smile forming on her face. Steele's on the other err… paw, started to fade a bit. If Ayanna had noticed, she definitely didn't show it. "He'd be so proud of him…"

….

"Where is he? He was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago," Sonya barked, pacing back and forth in the broiler room as Alpha kept watch at the door.

"Please, _Madame_, I am sure zhat our dear friend _Monsieur _Steele will be here soon!"

Sonya's glare to Tenino made him go for a quick retreat behind Tupit, the Saint Bernard already taking a small nap from the waiting. Beside the huge dog, Coal and Salina were fighting over an over chewed on bone while Tony just kept scratching his ears.

"Zenino has point, Sonya," Alpha began only for Tenino to lift his head and give a frown.

"It is Tenino!"

"Vhatever. Steele vill no doubt come. He probably has another stupid excuse again." The chow-husky mix left his post at the door and went over next to Sonya, nudging her with his rather short snout. Sonya looked at him, still with her angry pouty expression before smiling dearly at him.

"True, darling. I really should be used to all this by now." She gave him a nuzzle earning stares from the twins, Tony, and a mix of a bored expression from Tenino before he laid down on Tupit's fur comfortably.

"Oh, I envy zee missing _monsieur. _Granted I vould very much be likely to be stuck with _Mademoiselle _Ayanna, but that'd probably be better for _moi_ than here," he whispered. However, his words did not go unnoticed. At least by Tony.

"Ayanna? That wolf-dog girl? Steele's with her?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Tenino, waiting for a confirmation on this information. "Well, I cannot be very well sure right now, but zey have been seeing each ozher a lot lately." By this time Tupit woke up suddenly sleepily.

"Wha- what's going on?"

"Steele's in a relationship with Ayan- Wait, is he in a relationship with her?" Coal looked at Tenino while asking the latter part. Tenino made a struggling face.

"The _monsieur, _he kept denying, but he seems very much the sensitive aboot her. And it is zee rumor of zee zown."

"Steele's in a relationship with Ayanna!" Salina barked, finishing her twin brother's exclamation. Tupit's eyes grew wide, though due to his massive fur, it was hard to see the expression of his mouth.

"No, with his taste in females?"

"I vill not deny, zhere is talk of zhem that I remember," Alpha said, a thinking expression being placed on his face as Sonya stayed nuzzled against him. "But zalk can be misunderstood."

"Alpha's right. Rumors can be rumors. Though if they are true…" she spoke, giving a more understanding and thoughtful expression that was very rarely given in front of her team.

"How can these rumors not be true?!" Tony exclaimed while giving a gleeful childish smile. "They're practically perfect for each other! Sure Ayanna's no looker, and she does have a smile that makes me shudder, and she really isn't friendly, but… um….." Tony soon began think on what he did know about Ayanna that was positive as everyone gave him a black expression. "Um…. she has… pretty eyes?"

Sonya rolled her eyes and Alpha gave an unimpressed frown. Coal and Salina both shrugged as Tupit whispered in Tenino's ear, "Two bones on either Sonya, Alpha, Steele, or all three decking him on this trip." Tenino smirked and whispered back, "Make it _cept_, _mon ami._"

"Well, they're both crabby, for one." Salina pointed out.

"Contrariwise, they're both not pleasant. Not no how," Coal remarked, earning a few nods from the others. The door to the boiler room soon flung open however, revealing Steele entering and walking towards them.

"Sorry I'm late again. Was out… um… busy. Again."

"In all other words, you're neither on time nor earlier due to not wanting to leave your girlfriend," Salina smirked, wagging her tail as she stepped on the bone she and her brother had been fighting over earlier and grabbed it in her mouth. Steele paused as he reached the furnace.

"Gi- girl – girlfriend?"

"Oh come on now, Tenino told us all about you and Ayanna, Steele old pal."

If looks could kill, Tenino might as well have been friend up French fry gone wrong. The canine in question gave an unsure grin as he hide more behind Tupit, hoping for protection by his big fluffy friend.

"There's nothing between Ayanna and I. How many time do I have to tell you, Te-"

"But she is the reason why you were late, right?" Sonya asked, a small glint in her eyes.

Steele looked aside, suddenly taking interest in a nearby flicker of the flames. "She was dealing with some… family problems."

"So you were vith her?" Alpha smirked knowingly. Steele gave a small scowl before flicking a small pebble away.

"What sort of family problems?" Tony asked, always interested and curious of other's problems. Steele sat down, still not looking at any of them.

"None of your concern."

"Come on, tell."

"No."

"Tell."

"Tell, now," Alpha commanded. Steele's face soon began to look like he was holding back a growl as he turned away from the group and towards the door.

"It's only between her and me. She's just dealing with some family problems. That's all I'm telling you all. Now if that's all you're going to ask of me, I'm leaving."

"You get your glory hound behind over here this instance, and stay!" The rest of the team seem to move back a good foot or two away at from Sonya at this outburst. Steele stayed, as if frozen at where he was, and defiantly made no effort to join the rest of the group again. "We're making a trip to Sinuk next week. There's going to be a little bit of … a change in arrangements. Everyone here knew of it already while we were waiting for you to get yourself over here." Steele turned his head towards all of them.

"What sort of arrangements?"

"I'm not coming along."

The words in Steele's mind were the following: _YES! YES! YES! Finally! I am free from the alpha's little pain in the behind queen! Yes! Yes! Yes! Where's the nearest champagne!? YES! YES! YES! __**Ok, number one, you can't get drunk. At least not without getting your owner in trouble. Number two, isn't there going to be a catch in this like always? **__Ok, what part of the situation of Sonya not coming on a trip that's probably going to be three to five days at the least and therefore not joining Alpha on threatening to get me off the team do you not understand? All questions are invalid. Enjoy the relief! _

"And since there's going to be a hunter traveling with us, his dog is going to take Tenino's place as he'll take my place." Steele took note of Tupit's and Tenino's rather unsettled and unease expressions.

"Should I ask why you're not coming, Sonya?" Steele asked, trying to keep a calm face. Sonya looked towards Alpha with a small smile before holding a paw to her stomach. Realization took over as the malamute notice a small bump forming. _Oh sh-_. _**I told you there was a catch. If the trip's next week, she'll be in no condition to make the trip. **__Great. Just great. There's going to be a bunch of mini Alphas and Sonyas. Just great. __**Told you so. **_Then something else came into realization to Steele. There weren't a lot of hunters in Nome. There were a few, but enough that you'd know all their names if you were a canine. "Which hunter are we dealing with?"

"A _Monsieur _Ethan Rogers," Tenino answered. "You know him of course?"

Steele's face couldn't hide the realization this time, because he knew very well that when the son of Ayanna's owner visits Nome, he uses Ayanna as a hunting dog. _**Oh **__crud._

* * *

><p>Hey, something that has somewhat of a plot here. What do you know.<p>

To state something here, like I always do, I based Coal's and Salina's personality on the very loose (note the word loose) idea of Tweedledee and Tweedledum from Alice in Wonderland. More so on Coal's personality. This is actually why they're also in the back of the team, since it is questionable if they're actually all there in the head. There is also some influence of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter in Salina's character.

Tenino was originally, almost around the time of Chapter 2 in this fanfiction, to be based on Pepe le pew and try to take Steele's place as the lady's man (or canine if you prefer) of the town. Instead I made him more of a gossiper and someone who's not that good at keeping a secret. Oh, before I forget: little trivia here; Tenino has a crush on Tupit. There, I said it. Tenino's gay/homosexual/attracted to other males/ whatever you want to call it, whatever floats your boat. Now if you're not a whole yaoi or whatever you call it fan, than whatever. I could really care less.

Tupit's…. mostly based on my own Saint Bernard, Charlie. Expressive eyes, Mouth/muzzle that's hard to really see if that's what you look for in expression also, loves to pull sleds (still have to figure out where Charlie pulled my purple sled last time it snowed) and almost always lying down. Now granted, Tupit also has a crush on Tenino while my dog Charlie technically has a "girlfriend" of his own that lives right next door.

Alpha and Sonya…. I think I've made them pretty clear. Sonya's really the one that calls the shots, while Alpha's mainly in more charge of racing between the two. They're pretty much Alpha male and female of the team, complete with their own relationship.

Then there's Tony. He's based of off one canine from each of the three trios. Which by the way, has anyone else notice that there's **always** a trio in all the Balto movies? That can't just be me. The three canines in question are Star, Sumac (small brown wolf), and somewhat of Ralph, but more on the former two. I wanted to give him more of a wondering mind and curious outlook at the world really.


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, sorry for the wait, but Word was down, and new subscription was needed. I only own the OCs here.

Also warning, some cussing.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>Steele looked unsteadily at Ayanna as they both made their way to the team. He often took longer strides before looking back and waiting for her to catch up. She, on the other hand (or paw), stepped normally while taking deep breathes still.<p>

"So, is there any particular reason why it has to be Sinuk?" she asked as the team was in sight range. Alpha was already ready, having his sled harness as the rest of the team was being hooked up.

"Why so bothered about the place? If there's anyone to be troubled by all this, it's me."

Ayanna tilted her head as she began to walk closer to him, brushing up against him with a curious smirk. "Oh? You, Steele? Should I ask why?" Steele paused for a moment. He hadn't really mean to say that out loud, he really didn't. _Why should I be troubled with going to Sinuk? __**Well, glad you asked, old friend. Let's see, your father lives there…**__ Good point, I never did forgive him for never visiting. __**…while probably still flirting with other females dogs there. **__I never forgave him for that either… __**Hypocrite. You've had plenty of girlfriends and such. **__Yeah, but I've never dated anyone young enough to be my own daughter or old enough to be my own mother. I'm no cradle rocker. And I can be proud to say that I've never dated two females at the same time. __**…Good point. Then there's if the team finds out about Ayanna really being a wolf. **__That could happen at any time though. __**Of course then there's if they find out about your relation with her and-**__ Wait, what relation? We're just friends. __**… Seriously? Are you just vaguely blind to the fact that you two spend the most time TOGETHER more than anyone else? Even Romeo and Juliet had less time together that the two of you! **__Well, they both only knew each other for 2 days.* __**Still! **_

"Steele?"

Steele's looked to Ayanna as she waited for an answer, an impatient look on her face. The malamute suddenly took notice of how close she was to him, especially how strangely comfortable her fur was against his. "I… err… family issues. That's it, family issues." Ayanna took that as an answer and let herself to get harnessed up to the sled. It took Steele to remind himself that Ayanna was still playing "wolf dog/pet" when he started to wonder how she could be comfortable with the harness. It took him a second to realize that Tony was smirking a tad at him.

"What?"

The gray husky jerked his head towards Ayanna. "I think you two go together nicely." Steele narrowed his eyes, getting at what the smaller dog was hinting.

"She and I are just friends."

"That's not what everyone else is saying." Steele perked his ears as Tony jerked his head again, this time to a bunch of whispering dogs that were passing by. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Ayanna had perked her ears to at the conversation. Steele took noticed that the dogs were in fact Jenna and some of her friends.

"They seem like a perfect couple too!"

"Oh please, seriously Steele? With a half breed, and a very unattractive one at that? Please."

"But Tenino did say Steele admitted he was with Ayanna before going to the team's meeting in the boiler room, and Tenino is a very reliable source you know, Dixie."

"I wouldn't be too hurried to say that, Sylvia. There have been rumors even before Tenino told us that. I'm still slightly surprised though that Steele has actually noticed someone that wasn't wearing a mirror.*"

Steele's eyes widen a bit before turning his attention away, not wanting to hear the conversation anymore. And he defiantly did not want to see Ayanna's face at that.

Steele felt a sudden tug, and knew that it was time to go now.

…..

The trip to Sinuk went rather well, the team arriving by late evening due to some stops along the way. In the town on the other hand…

"Steele? My boy, is that you!?"

Steele close his eyes and pulled his ears back quickly at that voice before hurrying off once the harness was off both him and the other dogs to only bump into Ayanna. "What's going on?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Don't ask, just don't look and pretend you don't notice him," Steele said hurriedly, signally the she-wolf to follow him. Ayanna gave a confused expression before looking back anyways to see a black and white malamute male with dark brown eyes and a green leather collar. He looked much like an older Steele, however this dog had no markings around his eyes and had a rather ragged right ear.

"Steele, isn't that your father?"

"Look, just pretend you didn't see him and keep moving!"

Too late.

The older male had already caught up with them with a grin on his face. "Well, well, well, look who's here. It's absolutely wonderful to see you again Steelester!" Steele forced a smile on his face, as Ayanna nudged him a bit in the shoulder with a bit of a laugh at his nickname. Steele's father looked curiously at Ayanna, and taking first impressions, said, "Who's the lobo?" The female narrowed her eyes and started to growl at the older dog, the back of her fur starting to rile up. Steele quickly got in between the two with a fake smile on his face. _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, why did he have to say that? __**Because he's your dad and you did heritage a lot from him. Do you forget that you call Balto that? **_

"Um, Father, this is my friend Ayanna. Ayanna, this is my father… Titan," he said, defiantly more concern on keeping the two apart. Titan seemed taken aback as he looked Ayanna over.

"'Friend?' Your taste in female companions seem to have come down a bit, son. Especially in… pedigree, by the looks of it." Steele rolled eyes and sighed, wishing so much to not be in this situation. Thankfully, a brown and grey husky came by, catching Titan's attention quickly. "Well, if you excuse me, I have a beauty to catch up with."

"Aren't you a little bit old for this?" Steele asked, only to see his father still walking off. "Oh come on, you're already practically old enough to be her grandfather by the looks of it, Dad! Titan!" Steele's call were in vain as Titan caught up with the younger husky, saying, "Well hello little beauty…"

Ayanna looked towards Steele as he said low enough so that only Ayanna could hear, "But you could call my father 'Idiot' if you like," The she-wolf laughed, walking alongside him.

"So since you grew up here, do you think you could show me around? I'm pretty sure your father is going to be quite easy to avoid after that," she said, earning a little chuckle from Steele. He nodded, leading her along for a small tour.

* * *

><p>1*: To those of you who have a tad bit of trouble, the story of Romeo and Juliet does actually take place over the course of two days. Also, their story isn't mostly about true love, but young love.<p>

2*: When Jenna said that Steele would only notice somebody if they were wearing a mirror, I think some fans actually did well in the idea of an OC that would be Steele's mate as a female version of him. However, that's kind of getting old…

Well, we now have met Steele's father for the first (and rather short) time! I always thought that the best villains in any story are hypocrites. Sadly, though, I never quite saw Steele as a hypocrite anywhere, so I added that in this chapter because let's face it, once in our lives we are all hypocrites. And it just makes life funny when we look back on those moments.

Please review


	9. Chapter 9

Again, I only know OCs. Excuse the little part about Titan here.

Eli H. Lee

* * *

><p>"And then, just before I see this pretty little husky, I end up seeing my son Steele with <em><strong>a<strong>_ _**female wolf dog**_! Can you believe it?"

Titan was surrounded by a few of his "friends," which consisted of his own brother Storm, who was a black and white malamute like Steele and Titan, but had light brown eyes and a weaker build, and two huskies named Yogi (who had tan grey fur) and Hans (who had bluish grey fur). Both the huskies nodded, both looking rather shocked at the idea of their boss's son with anything that had wolf in their blood. Storm on the other hand looked very much bored at this news.

"About time," he said, earning a disapproving glare by his brother. "No offense, but I think one of your children was long overdue with settling things between our family and wolves." Yogi looked appalled at Storm with Hans by his side shaking his head. Titan growled at his brother at this idea.

"Well, if you so say so, why don't **you** go and mate with a wolf?!"

"What? And ruin all the fun of watching you squirm as you look on as one of you own future kin develops a relationship with one, or in this case, one who's half wolf? I'm actually glad that it's Steele too. I get to see both of you squirm at this idea as it goes on." Storm smirk as he scratched the back of his ear, not bothering to take note of the sneer his younger (by twelve seconds) brother was giving him.

….

Ayanna looked surprised when Steele got back from out of the butcher's place. The human had willingly tossed Steele over a bunch of sausage links, and the malamute was now carrying them around his neck. What surprised her even more was when he offered some to her. "Come on now, it has been awhile since either of us last ate," he said, seeing her hesitation. The wolf, on the other hand, looked at him slightly confused. _But… this is technically courtship, I mean… is he really trying to-? __**You're forgetting, he's a dog. He's not going to know wolf traditions. **__Right, almost forgot there. _

Ayanna grabbed a small bit, pulling her ears back a bit nervously. Steele raised an eyebrow before shrugging and jerking his head, signaling to continue the tour he was giving her.

….

Annabelle gazed outside with her head on a nearby cushion. She was a red and white malamute, with matching eye markings around her ice blue eyes. Her pink nose twitched before as she saw two canines pass by her house. She titled her head, confused at the scene. She didn't know of any wolves that would wear a ribbon as if it was a collar, or gladly be accepting food from a dog. Annabelle also gaped at the sight of the male dog.

What mother wouldn't recognize one of their own children?

She quickly went through the doggy door and walked down the steps, watching the pair walk up.

"Steele?"

The black malamute turned his head to see his mother, perking his ears up in the process. The wolf had also turned around.

….

"Mother?"

Ayanna tilted her head as she looked at Steele's mother. Seeing a dog with a pink nose wasn't something she saw yet, and in her opinion, Steele looked rather much like this other malamute. The pair walked over.

"Um, Ayanna, this is my mother, Annabelle. Mother, this is my friend, Ayanna," Steele said, smiling mostly at his mother now. Annabelle look Ayanna over much like Titan had done, but this time with a rather curious expression on her.

"You're… not what exactly one to live up to what I usually know about wolves," she barked, catching both Steele and Ayanna by surprise. Steele quickly placed a fake smile on quickly.

"No, no, no, she's… ehh…"

"If you are going to tell me she's a wolf-dog, my son, than you defiantly forget who you're trying to fool at the moment." Ayanna looked aside to Steele as she heard him gulp loudly. _Interesting._

Annabelle looked back at the she-wolf and circling around her. "I take it that you were a fighter and a hunter amongst your pack?" she asked, seeming to take note of Ayanna's build and scars.

"Yes, but…"

"What cause you to be kicked out then?"

"I… heard something that I shouldn't have." The red malamute's eyes flickered at her before she stopped circling. Steele finally caught his voice again, saying, "Mother how did you know that Ayanna was a wolf?" One of his eyes started to twitch nervously as the older female smiled.

"Easy. Your grandmother often took me for walks near the woods to get to see some for myself. At a reasonable distance, of course," she said, causing Ayanna look at her with curiosity and Steele to look at her with stun silence. "The only reason I didn't do the same with you and most of your siblings was because most of you had gotten that mean-streak towards wolves that your father had. Though I am glad to see you've out grown it, my son. So, would either of you care to tell me of any events in Nome recently?"

…..

The three of them must have talked for what felt like hours before Anabelle's owner came back to the house and called for her. During such, Steele's mother had told Ayanna all about Steele's embarrassing puppyhood moments ("It took almost forever to get him housebroken.") and both were told of what became of Steele's littermates. Eze had become a sled dog like Steele while the rest of the litter of eight either became normal family pets or show dogs.

When Annabelle had been called by her owner, the couple said their goodbyes to the older female before she walked off to her owner. Silence followed them as both kept eating what remained of the meat. Ayanna kept her head up as she ate while Steele ended up with a piece of fat stuck between his teeth.

"She reminds me of Aniya."

Steele perked one of his ears as his eyes turned to his companion. "Wha?" he said, still trying to get that little piece of fat. Ayanna stayed silent for a few more moments before continuing.

"One of the elders back on my pack. She was the Alpha Male's mother… everyone called her Aunty." Ayanna's mournful tone made Steele raise his head in concern. There it was again. She was talking about her past wolf life and remembering it. He would ignore this conversation was it like any of the other times, but something about the conversation with his mother brought something up in Steele that the malamute just realized.

He never knew why Ayanna was kicked out of the wolf pack.

This was the first time he ever actually heard her say anything about it. Even if she didn't give quite a clear answer, it was still the closest thing. Maybe now he could finally ask…

"Ayanna," Steele began, looking at her from a side glance, "exactly what did you hear that cause you to leave the pack?" The she-wolf's eyes flickered defensively towards him. Steele almost expected her to shout at him before they soften.

"I… I was assigned to guard the Alpha female with some other wolves as we headed out on a mission to make somewhat of a peace treaty between our pack and another. I hadn't meant to overhear, but I did hear them talking it all out. One of the many things in our pack that was well known what that the only son of the Alpha couple had was to always be an Omega. He was born blind and had a weak front leg. Another of the many things known was that we were to hold up honor and our word in an agreement. The Alpha of this other pack would only agree to a peace treaty was if our Alpha's top ranked son was to marry one of his daughters." Ayanna paused, before spitting her next words out in venom. "He said that only a beta or an alpha son would do. It all had to be by the second full moon. And she agreed."

Steele understood now as he nodded. Ayanna had probably told the truth to either her pack's Alpha male or this other pack's Alphas, but then how was this a bad thing? Ayanna had tried to hold up her pack's honor. What was wrong with that?

The she-wolf continued. "So when I told both the other pack's Alpha and my Alpha male… I ended up causing a war between our two packs. Both from the other pack, who's Alpha had felt used, and from within my pack. After much of our numbers were picked off from the other pack, the ones who supported the Alpha female finished the off the ones who were against through either death, placement in a lower ranks or honor less banishment until/unless we saw the error of our views… "

Oh… OOOHHH... That actually explained a lot. And the scars she has… "You didn't go through the whole banishment thing without an 'honorable' fight, did you?" he asked, looking at her scars at this. Ayanna's gaze at her paw said it all. It took a moment for Steele to catch the hatred in Ayanna's eyes. Her gaze wasn't at him, not yet anyways, and he didn't have to worry about it being towards him at all. No, the hatred was towards the wolves who sided with the one who almost cost the pack their honor, towards the one who gave her these scars, towards the Alpha female…

And towards herself.

"My father was placed as an Omega while my brother was given the role of a beta for his support for the Alpha Female. My mother … she had the blessing of dying against the other pack. She never had to see our family split apart through all of that. Never had to see how her son turned into a spy for the Alpha female against us just because of an argument, never had to see the disappointment in my father's eyes in him, in me… never had to see me strip of my honor, or our pack's honor…"

Steele nudged Ayanna's cheek, grabbing her attention. He shocked her when she saw the smile on his face. "If you were to ask me, I think she would be proud in that you manage to survive. And I say you still have enough honor to light up all the stars in the sky," he said, earning a confused smile from Ayanna. A confused one yes, but somewhat of a smile.

"You are really starting to lose you flattery skills."

"I'm being honest," he said, earning an "Mmm hmm" from the wolf. Steele's smiled began to falter though as he kept starting at her. Maybe it was just how the night light looked on her, or maybe he was just really tired, but Ayanna was starting to seem rather nice smiling at the moment. _When did that start happening? __**Wait, what's this? Is someone starting to get a crush? **__WHAT?! I AM NOT! __**Denial's the key, lover-boy. **__No! I just think that… she looks somewhat nice right now. __**Uh huh, you're starting to get a crush on her. **_

"Steele, are you ok?"

Steele blinked his ice blue eyes to meet Ayanna's blue-green ones right in front of his. "Ehh, sorry, I was thinking on something."

"Which was?"

Steele paused for a moment before getting up quickly. "About how cold it was starting to get. Come on, we probably need to catch up with the team." Ayanna sighed before getting up, before looking back at him.

"Would you happen to know where they would go?" she asked. Steele nodded as he led the way.

"Dogs from sled teams that make visits between here and any other town usually sled in the broiler room. Just a preference that kind of just kept going," he explained as the two walked on.

…

Not surprisingly, Steele and Ayanna were the last ones to enter the room to see the entire teams inside. Alpha, while not grumpy at them, did look at them questionably and at the meat they still had.

"Where the heck did you two go?" Tony asked, pinned by the twins due to a game.

"Sorry, took Ayanna for a tour around the town."

"Right, and _tour_," Coal said, with Salina adding, "_Around _the town too." Ayanna turned her head towards the two in confusion as to why they were talking like that before realizing what they were hinting. Now, it wasn't as if she didn't like Steele, he was becoming somewhat of a good friend, but the brownish furred female still felt insulted. "Anyways," Salina continued getting up off of Tony with her brother. "We just found out where our next stop is!"

"Contrary wise, sister, it's where we're going to before back to Nome."

Steele's ears perked up at this as his eyes widened. "What?" Alpha huffed, giving away that he was happy with this either.

"Turns out we need to make a stop at White Mountain before going back home," he explain, adding, "Last minute plans between our musher and Ayanna's hunter guy."

* * *

><p>Yep, so let's review what we have in this chapter, shall we? Steele's father with his friends and Steele's uncle, meeting Steele's mother, finding out why Ayanna was forced to leave her pack, where the sled team is going next, and Steele starting to maybe have a bit of a crush on Ayanna.<p>

This should be fun.

Please review everybody.


	10. Chapter 10

Again, I only own OCs.

Eli H. Lee

* * *

><p>The trip to White Mountain started off rather well… for the first day. The morning of the second day, everything went downhill. Literally, a storm came in, got the sled team lost, causing them to take a wrong turn, and go down a freaking cliff. Luckily, it was a rather small cliff with no sharp or ragged rocks at the bottom, so the worst damage everyone faced was getting heavily bruised. (Sheesh, how lucky can anyone get with that?)<p>

Unfortunately, that got them even more lost. So, right now, after trying to find their way back, the two humans built up a campfire for the night that was quickly coming. Everyone circled around, trying to keep warm. Everyone except Ayanna, who kept a little bit away from the group. Her eyes kept to their surroundings, the dark forest seemingly to be flickered by the light of the fire. To the sled dogs, this would be just be a forest. Ayanna's senses though, caught other things in the forest. The she-wolf got up and turned to check the rest of the group.

They were all asleep.

Good.

The wolf trotted towards the woods, careful to keep enough distance to see where the firelight was. For the first time in around three years, she finally assumed a walking position that she, as a wolf, would usually walk with and not the upright, dog-like position that she had pretended to have. She circled around, sniffing the area.

There seemed to be plenty scents of red foxes here, and no artic foxes. Ayanna left a deep sigh a relief out. If there were only red foxes, then they all needed to go either west or north. Good, they had some position of where they are, at least by species. Ayanna soon came across a small cliff that would only require a small jump get on top on. The wolf paused, her eyes narrowing at it.

_/Flashback time.../_

_A much younger Ayanna, with no ribbon around her neck, and with wounds and cuts still fresh, ran through the woods, running from something that couldn't be seen. The wolf seemed to have finally stop in front of a small cliff before catching her breath and turning to see if she was still being followed with her ears, one of them having a cut in them, highly perked. _

"_Well, well, well, what do we have here?" _

_Ayanna, or as here still Aklark, turned to see a female red fox with orange eyes on top of the small cliff, a dead bird underneath her paw. Aklark growled lowly. "What do you want?" _

"_Now, now, that's no way of getting help from anybody, now is it?" the vixen asked, smiling keenly at her. _

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Aren't you one of those wolves that was chased out? Rumors spread faster that paws, darling." Aklark gave off another growl before turning away. "Ah, there, there," the vixen said. "You just need a few tips on blend in now." _

"_Excuse me?" _

"_Well, no wolf pack is going to take you in without any questions being asked. And with a few clean ups here and there, you could pretend being a wolf dog or a dog and have a-"_

"_I will not stoop down to such demeaning lives of any sort!" Aklark growled again, her eyes narrowed sharply at the vixen for even suggesting such. The vixen, however, just smirked. _

"_Then you think you can live long on your own… with no pack?" _

_Aklark looked away at that, knowing full well what her life expectancy would be in that case. "Good you could see my way. Now, you're going to have to stand like your stand your ground, or being very proud. Also, you'll need to curl your tail, and..." _

_/Flashback over/_

Ayanna stood still here before turning away and heading back towards the small camp. Back there, she laid down, this time closer to the group, or more so with Steele.

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><p>Yeah, go ahead and just review please.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Again, I only own OCs.

Also, warning, bloodshed. Not much, don't get me wrong, just… going to warn you.

Eli H. Lee

-Day 4 of being lost for the team

He didn't expect the bear. None of them had.

Tony had to needed to "go answer nature's call" and had gotten lost in the evening light, which had caused for the team to later split up to look for him. Ayanna and the twins went with Rogers and the musher had Steele, Alpha, Tupit, and Tenino go with him.

Their musher already had been knocked out, while Tenino went to get the rest of the team. The three males remaining kept the bear confused so that it wouldn't do any other damage to their human. Tupit kept barking, running around as both Alpha and Steele made their own attacks. It wasn't long though until the bear's size proved useful for the bear itself.

Steele hoped that Tupit was only unconscious from the blow, though the scars across his front thigh made him unsure.

"Steele, try getting's his neck! I'll try and get his legs!"

"Front or back!?"

"Back!"

Steele quickly ran up onto a cliff that the bear had previously used to ambush them, jumping onto its back, quickly snapping at its neck. The thick fur prevented his teeth from getting at the skin or its jugular. He held on to, hearing Alpha biting at the bear's hind legs as well, and hoping that Tenino would get the others quickly. A yelp ('Never knew Alpha could yelp that high' Steele thought) as the bear turned around caused the malamute to panic, and being slammed into the cliff and later swiped at caused him to rib out a bunch of the thick brown bear fur.

He tried to get up, turning in pain, only to see Ayanna getting thrown in the opposite direction, new bleeding scars from the bear's claws now below her left eye and back left leg. Alpha, who had gotten back on his feet, and now with the help with the rest of the team, were trying to tackle the bear as Rogers trying to aim correctly at the bear and avoid hitting the dogs.

Ayanna's figure in the background tried to get up, only to fall back into the snow.

Steele's eyes narrowed, now starting to see red as he ran/limped towards the bear, teeth bared.

Everything then went blank.

…

Steele's eyes opened slower, his right shoulder, his snout, and pretty much his whole body all felt like it was on fire. He also felt something right next to him. Looking around, the malamute saw the giant bear carcass nearby, full of wounds and deep scars, and a bullet hole in its head. Rogers and the musher were both awake, the latter having wrappings around his leg. The twins were asleep by the fire in whatever new camp the humans built for the night, with Tony with them. Tenino was wide awake, shaking as he watched over a probably still unconscious Tupit, who now had wound wrappings around where Steele had seen his scars. Alpha was sitting up straight, his ears alert, though the malamute couldn't see if his eyes were open from the angle he laid in. Out of all of the dogs, Alpha probably got the most scars/wounds from the bear, Steele noted, seeing the wound wrappings around his leader's hind legs and front right leg. Coal, Salina, and Tony had gotten the least worse, having very little scars at all.

_Probably due to their size. _He thought.

Tenino had a mangled ear and Steele noticed a small bald, slightly bleeding part on the tip of the husky's tail, indicating that the bear had tried to bite his tail off.

Rogers, due to his gun most likely, looked like he had no wounds at all. He also had probably been the one that tried to patch up all of them.

Steele then looked around for Ayanna before feeling whatever was next to him move. Looking aside, the black and white canine sighed in relief at the sight of her there. She was clearly asleep, he knew this for sure due to experience. _She's alive, thank goodness… Everyone is. __**Not without some battle scars. **__The Rogers kid is perfectly fine. __**Physically, yes. Mentally, he has to deal with the fact that it was his idea to go on this trip. He has guilt to deal with all of this. **__He deserve that guilt! If it wasn't for him, we'd be back home. Ayanna and I would be talking, just as usual, probably even explore the woods maybe. The rest of the team wouldn't have to be here, no one would have been hurt, and __**What about you and Ayanna exploring the woods? **__Uh…err…_

"Steele?"

Steele hadn't noticed that he had moved while in his thoughts, which had caused Ayanna to open her eyes. The malamute looked at the she-wolf for a second before smiling at her. She returned the smile before adjusting her head in his black fur.

"So, vhen were you going to let us know secret?" Alpha's voice caught Steele by surprised after Ayanna had went back to sleep. "Don't be surprise. Zenino and I heard Rogers boy tell musher after musher ask vhy he didn't let him help heal Ayanna."

Steele's ears lowered as he looked over to Ayanna. The she-wolf still had her blue-green eyes closed, the position of how she was resting against him letting Steele to see that her ribbon was now missing. He sighed and looked to his other side, knowing well that Alpha was looking over at them. "Probably never, if I had it my way. It'd just be something I would keep from everyone else. After all, she wasn't going to tell the entire town anytime soon about, it was just between us."

"And zis 'family problem' she had zhat kept you late back in Nome?"

"Her son. And that's all I'm telling, alright?" Steele snapped, his eyes glaring up at Alpha. The canine had gone over to them, his expression not being very readable. Silence loomed over them for a while, the rest of the group around them slowly going to the slumber as well.

Alpha himself even laid down, his eyes focused on the fire. "I promised her zat I vould be there for our pups," he said, catching Steele's attention. The malamute stayed quiet for a moment before opening his mouth, only for Alpha to begin talking again. "It does not help zat everyone else on team too has somezhing back home. Mostly owners and families. And on team, we all suppose to look out for each ozher. And we do, not alvays in right way, but we do. Even Ayanna, though she is no dog."

"She's more than a dog, she's…" Steele started to blunt out, though quickly becoming quiet before he could continue. Alpha raised an eyebrow, but judging by the smirk he later gave, the team leader had probably that just like the rest had for a while. Steele looked away for a moment._ I'm not supposed to care about her. I mean, especially with the whole wolf thing and all. __**But you do. Very much. Karma, after all, is both cruel and rewarding. **__Sounds more like fate to me. __**That too. Funny to think of this huh? **__Not to me. Because right at this moment, fate is being very, very cruel. _Steele turned to look at Ayanna's sleep face, causing a smile to appear one his face. _And oh so rewarding. _

* * *

><p>If you really thought I was going to kill off Ayanna, you must be crazy.<p>

So, what do you think is going to happen next to our beloved friends!? Huh? Please review if you want to share your opinion!


	12. Chapter 12

I have seen... the most jacked up video ever!

It is called, "The night that Santa went crazy."

It will not be my fault if you get scared for life.

I only own OCs, have a nice day.

Eli H. Lee

-Day 10

All of Nome looked shocked as the lost team finally went through town. Tenino, Tony, Coal, and Salina all pulled the sled, on it being the musher, Ayanna, and Alpha. Steele and Tupit walked beside Ethan Rogers at he pushed the sled, helping the dogs that were pulling. The scars and wound dressings were what shocked those that saw the most.

The musher was quickly helped to the doctor's while Rogers got help with getting the team to Vet Rogers for proper treatment. News would later spread like wildlife.

…

Kaltag, Nikki, Star, Sylvie and Dixie looked through the vet's window in shock. Inside, they all saw the vet talking to the owners of each team member with the dogs by their own owners. Sonya was also there, with late signs of pregnancy, lying next to her mate.

"Sheesh, they were all lucky to make it back!" Star barked, having some-what of a struggle at seeing inside the house through the window. "Can you believe what could have happened if the Rogers hunter guy didn't know any medical stuff?"

"Talk about lucky!" Sylvie said, looking back towards Dixie, who had her ear pressed on the window. The Pomeranian* dog seemed to be listening closely to the conversation, as if to get every word.

"What did they say, Dixie?" Kaltag asked as the owners all walked out the door, taking their dogs with them. Steele struggled slightly against his owners, as if making an attempt to stay by Ayanna, but went along at the tug of his collar.

"They can walk, but no sledding pulling or any of that. Alpha's going to need to lay down more, the twins, and Tony are all considered fine. Tenino will need to be kept an eye on so that he won't try and scratch at his tail and- oh wait, they're talking again!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Shush!"

The chow-chow and two Alaskan huskies all look taken aback for a moment before looking at each other and back at the small female as they waited for her to speak again. Dixie's expression seemed to take random phases at whatever the vet and his son were talking about as the rest of the dogs saw Ayanna go into another room. It went from curious, to concern, to confusion, to disbelief, and finally to complete overall speechlessness. "Dixie? What did they say?" Sylvie asked, lowering her head as Dixie signaled her to come closer. The males all looked on as the female sighthound's* expression went into disbelief. "I'm speechless…" she said.

"What? What? What did they say!?" Nikki barked, nearly yelling his head off.

"Ayanna's a wolf."

All three males looked in utter disbelief as well before Nikki chuckled nervously. "You're joking, right?" he asked, while Kaltag went on saying, "That's the most obnoxious, the most revolting, the most repulsive, the most…"

Star interrupted both of them however, saying, "That actually explains a lot." Both chow-chow and golden pelted Alaskan husky looked at him with unimpressed expressions. Star looked at both of them with a somewhat sheepish smile. "Well it does." Kaltag bonked his head in response*.

* * *

><p>1* Ok, I was really guessing at what type of dog Dixie was, but Pomeranian was my best guess.<p>

2* Sylvie is obviously a mix of two or more sighthounds. My guess is an Afghan hound and a Borzois, but I'll leave your opinion up to yourselves.

3* There's nothing really important or such here. I just really loved the joke of Star getting bonked in the head every time he interrupted Kaltag. That was my favorite joke in the movie.

Yeah, well, looks like the secret is out! Next time, we're going to get some rather awkward scenes. This should be fun. Please Review.


	13. Chapter 13

Again, I only own OCs, people.

Eli H. Lee

The news of Ayanna really being a wolf spread like wildfire in a jungle. With a whole truck load of oil every ten feet. (Could Myth Busters do that?) So by the time everyone on the team, and Ayanna, were considered all healed up, with the exception of scars on Steele's snout, Tenino's ear, Alpha's right foreleg, and underneath Ayanna's left eye, all pets in the town knew of Ayanna's true species.

Now, one would expect them to outcast Ayanna, right?

More like, no one ever left her alone due to curiosity of what caused her to leave her pack. Consider living with that for around a few months more, and you would get Ayanna's new position. It was understandable that once it was found out of who started this wildfire news, that Ayanna certainly did not greet them in any sort of way that would be considered friendly. If anything, the more the she-wolf was annoyed with the crowds, she could be found in the boiler room. Dixie and Sylvie both tried to make it up to Ayanna by _trying_ to be somewhat friends to her. Emphasis on the word _trying_. In irony of it all, Jenna was actually the only female dog that Ayanna considered tolerable.

As for the rumors of Steele and Ayanna being "together," they seemed to be forgotten quickly at this new fact. Many even dismissed the idea of such, as they would remember Steele's taste in females in the past, even as signs of the very notion seemed to become rather clearer. In speaking of which…

(7 months or more after the whole bear attack)

Ayanna sighed as she walked by Jenna and the red husky's friends Dixie and Sylvie. Again, while she found the mate of the town's half-wolf somewhat bearable to be around, many of Jenna's friends still annoyed her. And both Dixie and Sylvie still had a lot to do before becoming even such to her.

"Good morning Jenna! Oh, and hello Ayanna! How do you think the race might turn out this time?" Dixie asked, looking excited as Sylvie nodded in greeting to both of the other females. "I say it'll be close, maybe a close call even?"

Ayanna rolled her eyes as Jenna looked to the side. "Um, Dixie, did you get a new collar again?" the red husky asked, Sylvie also sighing as Dixie puffed out her chest to show off an overly sparkled collar.

"Maybe. Who knows, maybe Steele will notice this time." Jenna's gaze went to Ayanna this time, not surprised at seeing a bit of a flare in the wolf's eyes.

"What's got you interested in Steele again?" Ayanna said, giving a bit of a snarl towards the smallest dog in the group. Dixie didn't take note of it, still walking in that proud strut.

"Oh, well, fighting off a bear, **is** rather heroic, isn't it?"

"So you are saying that nearly getting killed is being a hero." Dixie stopped, finally hearing the snarling in the tone.

"Are you saying Steele was being dumb?"

"No. One, he was not alone in the fight, in case you forgot. Two, if he had done it on his own, then it would be stupid. The fact that he did it with the team to avoid the musher getting even more hurt shows he has loyalty. To say that fighting off a bear is being a hero, with others who also fought, is like saying that a surviving a forest fire makes you a hero just for staying in a pond."

Jenna shared a nervous glance with Sylvie before walking in between the two females. "So, Ayanna, I've notice your owner also got you a new collar." It was also true, as Ayanna now was wearing a rather reddish colored collar that made her blue-green eyes stand out more. One the front was seemed to be her dog tag, in the shape of a blue crescent moon. Ayanna looked down at her collar for a moment, as if she wasn't quite comfortable with it.

"Well, of course it's a new collar," she said, looking around with a somewhat bored expression. "My owner thought it would be best to replace the one I lost in the attack."

Before anyone else could say anything, the two dog sled teams were seen in the distant now. One team was obviously Steele's team, Alpha still leading and Sonya now back on. Over on the side lines, Ayanna could see four rather young dogs cheering for them. All four were of course Sonya's and Alpha's pups, already with their new families. The other team contained Kaltag, Star, and Nikki, the lead dog being a bluish-grey and white male husky.

Ayanna left the group for a moment, their focus being on the race, as she went to get a better view on some barrels. From there she got a better look at how the teams were progressing. There was once a time when she first came here, she would have scuffed at even attending or watching a race. Now however, it was worth seeing at what Steele considered himself to be best at. Looking quickly from side to side to make sure nobody was watching her, the brownish-tannish furred female began cheering on for what she considered her only friend, and her most favored team, in the town.

The teams quickly crossed over the finish line, the winning team being…

Alpha's team! (He's the lead dog, it's technically his team.)

Ayanna quickly got down from the barrels and quickly ran towards the team. Steele quickly got out of his harness and cheered with the team.

"Hey, Alpha, Sonya, neither of you can say I even cheated for the team this time!" he gloated, puffing out his chest. Sonya scuffed, while Alpha rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you proved us wrong. Nobody likes a gloater, Steele," Sonya barked, following Alpha as the two of them went to their owners. Steele shook his head before turning and almost touching Ayanna's nose in the process. Both backed away, embarrassment setting in before both smiled awkwardly at each other.

"Um, you… you did well. Great even, might I add," Ayanna started, causing a slight flattered expression come across Steele's face.

"Well, you know, it's all in the breeding, you know. I was born as sled dog, baby!" Ayanna gave him a questioning look, causing the malamute to realize his mistake. "Not that I think you're a baby! No, no, no, no, no, no! I meant… um… I uh," Steele looked away awkwardly as Ayanna started chuckling. Dixie and Sylvie both walked over, Jenna already walking away with Balto.

"So, Steele, that was a pretty great race, huh? Pretty neck to neck," Dixie said, puffing out her chest, trying to show off her collar. Sylvie gave another sigh, shaking her head as Ayanna narrowed her eyes at the small female. Steele looked slightly confused at all three females' expressions. Dixie's smile began to slightly falter as she saw Steele's expression. Proceeding to walk around his legs, Dixie began to play with the sled dog's collar. "So… notice anything new, Steele?"

Ayanna's back fur began to bristle as a slight snarl towards the Pomeranian, catching Steele's attention for a moment. "That's a very lovely collar," he said, causing Dixie sighed happily. Until… "It really brings out your eyes, Ayanna." Dixie looked in disbelief as Steele walked to the side of the wolf, one of his 'eyebrows' raised in interest. Ayanna looked slightly flattered, as well rather shy looking with a small smile on her face.

"Dixie, daringly, why don't we go see if the butcher has any meat to give out, huh?" Sylvie asked, seeing Dixie become rather miffed. The smaller dog shook her head and tried to put a flirty stare as she tried to walk over towards the black and white dog.

"You know Steele, if you have anything going on toni- uff!" Dixie was rudely interrupted by Ayanna placing her leg right in front of her. "Hey!"

"If you have anything on your mind tonight, we could probably take a walk later on, if you want," the larger female said, earning a grin from Steele. Dixie looked up at Ayanna with a glare.

"I'll hold you up to that, then, Ayanna." Steele held his head high up as he strutted towards his owner. Both Sylvie and Dixie took a glance at Ayanna.

"What was that all about!? Did you see I was trying to...?"

"Get together with Steele for only the fact of being 'heroic?'" Ayanna interrupted, glaring back at the small dog. "No offense, but I am pretty sure that even that is a poor excuse to look for in a mate."

"Why you little daughter of wild savage," Dixie growled. Ayanna shoved her faced down at her, growling back at the insult.

"If being savage means having a clear role in a pack, then I can live with that! As for 'little?' Why don't you look at yourself, pipsqueak?" Sylvie quickly got in-between the two, wanting to avoid a public fight.

And so began the rivalry between Dixie and Ayanna.

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><p>Ok, maybe this wasn't awkward, but I still found it somewhat amusing.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

When we last left off, Ayanna and Dixie began their rivalry. Over Steele's attention.

I would usually say to place a cat-fight joke here, but due to the fact they're all canines, I think it'd kind of be a little misplaced. Also, this chapter may have some cussing.

Eli H. Lee

"Alright, so why are we taking our walk to the building next to the doctor's?" Ayanna asked as Steele opened the door to the said building. The dog glanced over at her as he stood aside.

"Eh… I overheard Balto and Jenna talk about it to one of their kids. So I thought that you'd probably like to check it out with me." He held out one is paws. "Ladies first." Ayanna raised an eyebrow before heading inside. Looking around at first glance, it looked very much like a smaller boiler room. It wasn't until Steele went over and pushed the loose the metal… well she didn't know what it was exactly called, but when the malamute pushed it aside, it lead to what looked like another room.

Both canines went inside, which lead to a somewhat tight fit due to both of them being rather large. Steele looked around rather confused as they both walked on. "Alright, if I heard correctly, we should be looking for some light area down here with some bottles." Ayanna sniffed the air as she followed Steele. "You know, Jenna never seemed to be type to come down to a rather gloomy place like this, if you ask me," he said, looking around each beam to see where the place they were looking for was any closer.

"Gloomy? The only two places and one thing I could think that could be even more beautiful than here is the forest, the tundra, and the Northern Lights," his wolf companion said, glancing at a rat as it scurried by. Steele lifted his tail to knock a spider web away. He raised a brow at her before continuing on.

"What were you raised in, a burrow?" he asked, only to realize a second after of what he had just said to who.

"Actually, in an abandoned bear den and later on in a series of tunnels and connecting dens. Strangely enough, my mother was the one raised in a burrow," she said with a causal tone. Steele turned his head back to her. Ayanna looked back at him as well. "What?"

"Nothing."

"I think what we're looking for is also just up ahead."

Steele turned his head to see a group of bottles and a shed of light. He led Ayanna towards them and examined the many colored broken bottles. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Ayanna held an amusing smirk at his own confused expression. "You have no idea what you're doing," she said, sitting down.

"Yes I do! I just… um... Just wait a moment, I got this."

Ayanna rolled her eyes and laid down as she watch the male struggle with arranging the bottle under the light. It was almost seemed like an hour before light filled the place. The wolf had to turn away from where Steele was due to the brightness, causing her see the effect it displayed on the wall.

"Hah! I got it! See, Ayanna, I told you can I had it. Ayanna?" Steele looked over at the wolf and saw what she was looking at. Walking over, the malamute sat beside her as he gazed at her expression.

"I haven't anything this close to the actual Lights ever since I left the woods…" she said, a wonder-filled gleam seeming to be in her eye. "Granted, once you see the real thing, a replica doesn't seem as beautiful… but it really looks so close to it." Steele looked at the display again, a smile creeping onto his face again.

"It really is beautiful, I do have to agree with you on that."

"Oh, how nice. The male who spends half a morning preening himself in front of a mirror would thinking anyone but himself was even close to appealing," Ayanna teased. Steele turned towards her with what seemed to be a pout.

"And this is coming from one who might as well be a bear that had been run over a good few times," he said back, earning somewhat of a smirk from the wolf.

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><p>…Please review.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Finally writing Balto in here! Now for those of you who wondered why Jenna in this story more, and why Balto isn't the one who's Ayanna should be friendlier to, here's my explanation.

Balto is still half wolf. I know that's a point that someone could make towards the idea of Ayanna and Balto being somewhat friends, if anything, friendly acquaintances. That is a good point, BUT Balto is still _**HALF **_wolf. That means he is still part dog. And Ayanna herself is only somewhat friendly with very few canines as is. Very few. Not only that, but Ayanna is supposed to be somewhat closer to Steele, while at the same time his opposite. If you look it all in a way, Ayanna has a broken pride, just like Steele after the first movie. Steele had too much pride in himself, Ayanna had too much pride in her heritage and way of life that she had as a member of a wolf pack. And both of them paid the price for it. I don't ever recall a time where Balto's pride became as broken as either Steele's and Ayanna's. Plus, hasn't anyone thought about why Balto never just joined a wolf pack if life in town with all the dogs didn't accept him? Exactly! In the first movie, the town didn't accept Balto because he was half wolf. Why would a wolf pack accept him when he's half dog!? (Wolves in first film do no quite count, they could have mistaken him for a wolf from that distance!)

So now you're probably wondering then why does she get along somewhat better with Jenna.

It's not so much that Ayanna gets along with Jenna better, it's more so that Jenna doesn't annoy her as much as others would.

And yes this does take place after the third film… which quite frankly, I thought the second film should have been enough.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>Steele walked down the street near evening that summer, looking around for Ayanna when he bumped into Balto and what Steele recognized as their daughter Aleu. The malamute narrowed his eyes at the wolf-dog slightly, earning the same from Balto.<p>

"Balto," Steele sneered coldly.

"Steele," Balto replied back.

"I thought your daughter here was part of a wolf pack now."

"The caribou moved over here and my pack followed. We just happened to be in the area," Aleu said, holding her position more like an Alpha. Steele growled slightly before walking away. This caused a slightly confusion from both father and daughter wolf dogs.

"You're not going to tease or make fun of us?" Balto questioned as he turned his head back to Steele. The malamute looked back at them with a bored expression.

"Don't have the time at the moment. I'm looking for Ayanna and then going to visit her son. His pack happens to also be in the area for the summer," he said, having somewhat of a smirk. Balto and Aleu both looked rather surprised, but for rather different reasons.

"Who's Ayanna? Why does she have a son in a wolf pack?" Aleu asked, turning to her father.

"She's the vet's pet wolf, but the rest of the humans in the town thinks she's either a wolf dog or a wild looking dog," Balto explained before turning to Steele. "When did Ayanna have a son?"

Steele seemed to be in thought for a moment however. "On that thought though, she does have two sons and a daughter in Aleu's pack… of course with her nephews and nieces there as well… Perhaps a visit there could be good for her. It'd be a rather nice surprise for her…" the malamute seemed to be talking to himself, though the words caused even more confusion for Balto and Aleu.

"She has… kids in my pack?"

"When did she have any pups?"

"Naturally we'd be visiting Niju first, Nava's pack is closer, then see if we could find the other pack and…" Steele's voice trailed away as he walked to find Ayanna, leaving a rather shocked looking pair behind him.

Aleu stood shakily by her father before sitting down.

…

"You have no idea how old this makes me feel," Jenna said, nuzzling a light brown red pup away from a darker reddish pup. The husky looked up only to chuckle at what she saw. "Willow, stop chewing on Ayanna's ear, that's becoming a bad habit."

The dark reddish brown female pup perked her ears and released her grasps on the female wolf's ear. Ayanna looked annoyingly at the pup before looking at the two pups that were settled between her front legs before continuing to groom them. Jenna's daughter Saba was currently trying to keep three of her pups from fighting over the same sneaky toy.

"I'm not sure how you and Daddy manage to take care of six of us, Mother. All of my pups here are a handful back at home," Saba said, ending up keeping two of the pups separate. Jenna chuckled again, this time at her daughter.

"Well, Boris, Muk and Luk also helped with you six. You all would always try to chase Boris even."

Ayanna just kept on grooming the pups she had in her paws, not really paying attention to Jenna and her daughter until Saba asked her something. The wolf lifted her head in attention, her ears perked slightly.

"I was asking if you and Steele had any thoughts on pups," Saba said, earning a somewhat glare from the wolf. "Of course, I can understand why you won't probably want any. I mean, it's technically a big step for anyone and..."

"You are aware that by means Steele and I aren't mates? We're more… courting."

Jenna and Saba glanced at each other before looking back at Ayanna. "Most of us thought that you two were actually," Jenna started to say before noticing Balto and Aleu walking towards them. Saba's pups all looked over as well before running over.

"Grandpa! Aunty Aleu!"

"Is Great-Uncle Boris here too?"

"Do you want to meet Grandma's wolf friend, Aunty Aleu?"

Aleu nervously glanced over to Ayanna, the latter seemingly to judge her stance as she stood up. "It's great to see you again, sister," Saba said, also walking over to greet her father and sister.

"It's to see you as well Saba. So Mother has a wolf friend I see?" Aleu said looking over quickly to her mother. Jenna smiled unevenly, knowing what her other daughter was most likely asking her.

"Aleu, this is Ayanna. Though as for her being my friend, it's somewhat iffy."

"I find your mother rather tolerable compared to others," Ayanna said, walking over and circling around Aleu, who seemed to get rather nervous of the she-wolf's presences. "So this is the daughter who went to lead a wolf pack?"

"Yes, Aleu's pack happens to be in the area," Balto said, seeming to take a step back. Saba and her pups all perked her ears. One of the pups turned to Saba in excitement, barking happily, "Does that mean we can see them too?!" Ayanna stopped at her third time circling Aleu before her.

"Hmm, you could use some more muscle in the back legs. Aside from that, you seem capable to be an Alpha," she said, tilting her head at the female in front of her. "You could also use some more confidence maybe, but that's to be expected in anyone when meeting strangers."

"Oh, Ayanna!"

Everyone looked over to see Steele approaching them, causing the malamute slowed down at the sight of the family that Ayanna was with. Ayanna flashed a smile (making Saba somewhat cringe) before walking to Steele. The sled dog flashed a smile before whispering something in her ear. The wolf looked at him before turning to the others.

"If you'll excuse, there's… someone I need go to see at the moment," she said, following Steele towards the woods. Jenna furrowed her eyes as the family watched them go.

"They do know they can be a little bit more open when they just want to go at it, right?" Saba said, causing her parents and sister to look at the in shock while the pups just went right back to playing.

"Saba!"

"Well, aren't they? He's the only male aside from Dad and the ones on Steele's team that she won't dare snap or growl at. And they know each other more than I think anyone else knows about them."

"You can't just assume that," Balto barked, shaking his head. "And they are meeting someone actually. I think Steele forgot we were around when he started to say what was on his mind out loud." Aleu nodded before looking towards the woods.

"I... I'll be right back. I need to ask Ayanna something," she said, running towards where the wolf went. Jenna and Saba both turned to Balto for an explanation. The male wolf-dog sighed before explaining.

….

Ayanna turned her head back as she heard footsteps to see Aleu following her and Steele. She stopped before signaling Steele to go ahead. Aleu approached her, her ears staying against her head. The older female stared at her, waiting for the younger one to speak. The lighter female looked at Ayanna, as if seeing her for the first time.

"You're going to see Niju?"

Ayanna stared at her blankly before answering. "Yes." Aleu gulped silently before continuing.

"Then… are you his mother?" Ayanna's gaze didn't change as she seemed to stare Aleu down. The female wolf dog looked down slightly. "Look, as of what happened back then, I-"

"What happened between you and my son back then is what it was. Back then. I was not there, therefore I will take no part of it," Ayanna interrupted, turning away from the young pack leader and heading towards the scent of Niju's and Nava's new pack.

"But-"

"I said I will take no part of it!" Aleu quickly back away, having learned while with her pack that when an older, very much more likely more experienced wolf snapped that you, you back away from the fight. Ayanna gave a glare, her temper already almost tested before continuing on through the woods, leaving the young Alpha behind. Aleu stood there, watching as the older female disappeared into the woods before turning to go back to town.

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><p>This… took… forever!<p>

Please review.


	16. Chapter 16

Ok... I… I just found out something that kind of scares me.

Niju x Aleu … are not a crack pairing, it's a legit fan pairing. And yes, I read the three Niju x Aleu pairing stories I found and it slightly terrified me more.

If you support or find this pairing ok, then fine, I won't judge you, it's your opinion. But… why? Why did someone come up with this pairing? I actually thought this was like Steele x Balto, or Steele x Jenna, a pairing that somebody made up just for the heck of it, no seriousness attached. I was so wrong….

And don't get me wrong, if it's done right, I sort of see it, but I don't think I could see the whole pairing itself…. I could see them as friends, I could. I could see it even if it was like Frollo and Esmeralda from Hunchback of Notre dame, which by the way is an awesome movie, where Niju would be obsessed with Aleu in a dangerous way. (by the way, haven't read such a story on this website yet… Please someone do so, because I already made my own OC for Niju and quite frankly, I want to keep my own stories to the principal of my mind. And I cannot write a Frollo-like villain/character unless it's Warrior Cats.)

And no, I don't like this just because of age difference, I could care less about age difference, it's that I will agree that Niju is very much like Steele. He's not a clone of Steele, but he is similar. Niju x Aleu makes me think of Steele x Balto at the very first thought… And I've read some Steele x Balto stories and only one didn't scare me.

I'll give the Niju x Aleu stories that are here so far some credit on that though… They don't do what those stories do...

Oh gods… the memories of what they did to poor Balto…..

Eli H. Lee

* * *

><p>Ayanna smiled as she touched the little pup's nose. Unnuk sat in his grandmother's paws, his amber brown eyes gazing at her curiously. At first glance, Niju's and Kiva's only pup looked just like his father aside from his eyes, but on a closer look, he had a much more richer dark brown fur color and a lighter gray underbelly.<p>

In speaking of the parents, Niju sat at a nearby distance as he kept an eye on his son while Kiva was laying down right next to Ayanna. The entire pack all were nearby, as this little pup was also their only youngster so far. Both Kiva and her sister Dania apparently had a family history of fertility problems, and the only other female, the black wolf Puja, was extremely picky when it came to choosing mates. The fact that a pup for this pack had been even born was a blessing to them.

"He's very quiet for his age. All pups I've known were always loud," Steele said, sitting on Ayanna's other side as he also stared at the pups. Ayanna chuckled, letting Unnuk crawl over to Kiva. The lighter brown female nudged Unnuk towards herself as the pup began to curl up in her paws.

"Wolf pups are also playful, but they are expected to behave themselves, especially around guests," Nava said, sitting in front of one of the dens in the area they were sitting in.

"Of course there's the point that he's the only pup of any of us, so it's somewhat to be expected that he has a bit of a shyness to him," Niju said as he walked over to his mate and pup, giving a smile as Kiva gave him a loving lick.

"I must say though, he's a wonderful little addition," Ayanna said, watching as Unnuk kept one eye open looking at her and Steele. The pup cooed a bit before getting nuzzled by Niju, yipping playfully.

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><p>Yeah, so…. I have my reason why this is up so late.<p>

1)School is about to start.

2)I have cats, and I have to keep my dad's smokes away from the youngest one while making sure none go missing whenever the dog goes out.

3)World of Warcraft, the news of Warlords of Draenor and the new clips have made me go into overload geekdom.

4)There was more for this chapter, but I realized that it didn't fit with the rest of the story.

5)Sims 4 demo. I am having far too much fun there.

Please review. And please...


	17. Chapter 17

…

Sims 4…. Is coming out sooooo soon….

EPIC GEEK-OUT!

(Yeah, being lazy here in intro)

Also, after I'm done with this story, I will be rewriting my Madagascar fan fiction, a Surprise in Russia, and Rise of the Guardians fanfic, Rivals to Allies.

Also, cursing warning…. Maybe.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>The wind blew through the air in the early autumn's evening, colorful leaves and loose snow traveling along with it. Steele was laying down on his owner's back porch, right next to the chair as he watched the scene. He took a deep breath in before laying his head down with his eyes closed. Ayanna was at the moment visiting the small wolf pack before they went off to travel to follow the herds before winter finally set in. The trip to see Ayanna's other children that were members of Aleu's pack ended up with not really actually meeting them. The reason behind this was that, while Niju actually needed some help to understand the past and such, Taku, Isi, and Storm already accepted without such help and moved on as they did inherited the much more adaptable nature that Ayanna's mother had. They already had a good life, with little to no struggles. Isi even had her own pups, one of the girls already having met Ayanna and Steele when they had been looking at the size of the pack. It was actually really strange, seeing how much the pup had strangely looked so similar to Ayanna. <em>Baby Daddy must have been a way lighter fur color. <em>

"_**Baby Daddy?" Seriously, that's the name you went with? You couldn't just say Isi's mate, or… **__Shut it. Let me just look back at that little precious moment of Ayanna and the little fluff bucket. __**You better hope she never learns you thought that of her grandkid. **__Again, shut it. _Steele had a good reason on why he wasn't with Ayanna at the moment. He was having thoughts. Very, very, conflicting thoughts. Thoughts that he, as him, as a sled dog who would be proud to dig up his pedigree and show it off around town, should not be having about a wolf like Ayanna. A wolf who scared the fucking shit out of everyone in town when first moving to town (and still does every now and then today), who very well had to go through her own crash down of her pride, who he very well knew took on a bear!_ Granted the entire team was there, especially me, but that is still a point. _And by all means, she certainly had been an uncheerful companion at the start. But as of late, Steele had been finding himself distracted by thoughts of his friend. _**More like as of the last few… oh… let's say, what about seven or eight months at the most? Or possibly forever? **__No, most defiantly not forever! __**True, true. But it has been quite some months with those thoughts of yours, huh show boy? Quite entertaining if I do say so myse- **__I am going find a way to get your part of my head out and tear you to pieces if you don't become quiet. __**Yeah, in the next thousand years or so… not. I will admit, though, I was wondering when you were finally going to become fully aware of your attention to her. **__You're just as bad as the team. _

Sadly, that last part was true. Especially with Tony and the twins starting to joke around it plus the fact that those same rumors of him and Ayanna were beginning to spread again, no thanks to Tenino and Tupit. And with rumors came with confrontations between Ayanna and Dixie, the latest one being a few weeks ago. Lucky Dixie's owners and Ayanna's owner came and quickly separated the two before any damage could be done, aside from Dixie's collar snapping when the smaller dog struggled with Ayanna picking her up with it. It actually looked more like a mother wolf picking up one of her pups*, except with more collar and less scruff, though one does have to give the thought that since Dixie wasn't choking that Ayanna was holding her by the scruff as well until the owners came. That and Ayanna had defiantly looked more annoyed than the protective manner she held when Unnuk managed strayed a little too far for comfort from the pack one time.

_**Probably didn't help that you found that scene attractive, did it? **_Steele growled to himself, placing a paw over his face, furrowing his eyebrows at himself. The last thing he had needed at any time was loving Ayanna's dominate nature at times. And with early snow coming in, with wind added as of the latest weather report the radio gave out, seeing her thick, dark tannish brown fur contrast with the white snow, yet fitting in with the rapidly changing leaves, watching her blue-green eyes seeming to burn into his own soul seemed both very enjoyable… and secretly terrifying. Steele gulped as he opened his ice blue eyes a tad. When these thoughts and feelings started to emerge, he had really thought nothing about it. Sure, he'd wondered here and there, but he figured it was just some little crush that would go away, sooner or later. Now he was trying to both figure out when they got to this point and trying to catch his mind up with them. And sadly, being away from her was not helping. In speaking of which…

Steele opened his eyes entirely and lifted his head as he saw Ayanna on the horizon. Without a second, heck even one thought, the malamute raced towards her. They ended up meeting at the edge of what was considered the boundary of the "backyard" for Steele's owner. Ayanna had a piece of meat in her mouth, probably caribou if Steele was to guess, and held a very confident gaze at the black and white dog. At first, Steele didn't seem to take notice and wagged his tail. "So, how did the parting visit go?"

Ayanna placed the meat down and tilted her head. "Helped them with one last hunt before they went to move on. Everyone wanted to have a full stomach before the journey." Steele nodded a bit absently, now moving a tad closer.

"I see they let some extra go by." Ayanna eyed him, though her position seemed unmoved.

Suddenly Steele lunged for the meat, only for Ayanna to be quicker and snatch the meat right back up. The wolf leaped a small distance and looked back at the dog, her head held high with an expression that clearly said, _"Can't touch this."_ Steele grinned, taking the challenge as he chased after her, already his chest pounding heavily, though he wasn't sure if the source was the adrenaline from the start of the chase… or his own heart.

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><p>Yeah… cliché chapter here….<p>

And now, if you will excuse me, I have to figure out what the hell a fraggle is.


	18. Chapter 18

And now, the last chapter for this story. Which will be done with drabbles…. Please do not kill me.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>Winter Again<p>

Winter was always Ayanna's and Steele's favorite season. It was the time for racing and getting excited as snow fell for Steele. It was the time for Ayanna to watch the darker and clearer night sky, to wander of her ancestors. Winter was the season in where they had first met, three, going on four, years ago. Winter was when they had most of their challenges set in.

By all means, it felt good that winter was back again.

Irony Through And Through

Many of the dogs in the room either raised an eyebrow or gave Steele a dirty look still as the malamute walked in with some sausage links around his neck. His blues gazed around the room before they set on the female wolf in the corner. She smiled quietly before getting up, making him smile in return and sighing. The two of them walked out quietly, leaving the others behind as they looked at one another.

"So, they're really... um...?" one husky started to ask as still gazed at the door.

"Never thought Steele would fall for a wolf like her either, huh? Join the club," another said, sharing a grimace of amusement with the others.

Dens

Ayanna's owner finally got a den out in back made for Ayanna by early spring, as he thought that she would be more comfortable in a den than the doggy bed that was in the kitchen.

Needless to say, Steele grew used to it over time for her sake.

Possessive

"That probably was unnecessary," Steele said, following Ayanna into her den. They had just ran off from Balto's and Jenna's third daughter, Isabelle, who had tried to be friendly with Steele. "I don't think you've noticed how much of a big ideal Balto is around here. Plus, she's Jenna's daughter and you are at least more comfortable with talking to Jenna."

Ayanna turned her head towards him as her eyes narrow. "She was getting a little too friendly with you. And I happened not to like sharing what's mine."

"Yeah but that's not the point- wait, yours?" Steele's blue eyes gazed towards her, meeting her blue-green ones. The wolf huffed.

"Of course mine." Steele grinned as he padded past her.

"I hate to see how Siku dealt with that little side of you."

Little Bundles

It had been weeks since anyone in town had seen Ayanna, and no one, except Steele, knew why. Some had a pretty good guess, but decided not to find out yet. Rumors were already spreading about the town.

So when Ayanna walked into town with her giving anyone near by a threatening look if they even spoke to her or the two pups following her, it didn't really surprised many. Nor did the moment Ayanna rubbed her head against Steele's as her pups tried to play with him, calling him Papa.

The Little Pups

The female of the two had Steele's black fur and Ayanna's underbelly, though lighter. Her eyes were the same as her mother's, her build seemed closer to a wolf's, and had her father's expressions down in an instance.

Her brother seemed to have a similar coat, though if one placed them side by side, they could tell his coat had a more reddish brown tint to it compared to hers. He had his mother's face and father's build, with the exception of his nose. It had a more dark pink hue to it, probably inheriting it from his father's mother.

He loved his sled dog side, begging Steele to teach him to sled race. She wanted to explore the woods and learn to hunt from Ayanna. Jenna taught them to be gentle to others. Balto taught them to accept both sides of their life. Steele's old and current team were all called their uncles and aunts.

Steele called her Cherilyn and called him Kaolin. Ayanna called her Chulyin and called him Kapik.

Truth and Feelings

Ayanna's owner knew better than to separate the pups from her. However, he couldn't have wolf dogs in the town, and especially couldn't sell them off. The idea of releasing them into the wild had come across the old man's mind, but whenever he looked at them, even as they grew older by the month, he found himself feeling guilty for ever thinking of the truth of the matter.

Mama, Papa, and Uncle Balto

With them being wolf dog pups, bullying was expected from others. Then Ayanna and Steele got into parent mode and the bullies to run off, only for new ones to take their place.

Luckily, Balto quickly solved the matter once and for all the moment the "but they're neither wolf nor dog" excuse came into use.

Mama approval

The time when Kaolin got interested into girls, Steele thought it was best to warn Ayanna to watch out if the boy took even more after them than at the beginning. Though that probably made it even worse for the girls he tried to bring home.

Sadly, Dixie's own daughter Keisha got into the mix.

She had Dixie's eyes and fur style when it came to her head. The rest of her however took more after whoever the girl's father was. White fur, gray brown eyes, medium build, and a poor, shy way of carrying herself. By all means, if she was a wolf, she would be an omega for sure.

Ayanna gave a surprisingly pitiful look at her when Kaolin first brought Keisha to meet her and Steele. Not that Kaolin had much of a choice, his parents were to find out anyways.

Maybe for once, Ayanna could give a mother's approval, if not… well, nothing was about to stop Kaolin from still seeing Keisha after this anyways. Steele already knew from the happy expression his son always had around the girl.

The Wilderness, Her Ancient Home

Chulyin, by all means, loved her wolf heritage. Steele often had the fear any parent would have at times whenever Chulyin looked to the forest with that longing look Ayanna once held whenever she had thought on her pack life.

Like any father, he thought of her as his little girl, and the fact he knew she would want to go deeper into the woods and live in a wolf pack often scared him. Mostly because of some of the wolves she would meet if she did.

Not that he thought all wolves were bad, after all Ayanna was one, and Niju and his pack members were all rather good wolves in Steele's opinion. But he knew that there were some very dangerous ones, even by natural wolf standards. It often caused him nightmares when he thought on it.

So when Chulyin joined her half-brother Niju, Kiva, Unnuk and the other of Nava's pack the moment she fully became an adult, Steele was scared half to death and was having trouble letting her join. When he was finally convince by everyone she would be fine, he still made sure to tell her to visit as often as she could, not to talk to strange wolves unless she knew she could trust them, and so on.

"Papa, you can stop hugging me now… Papa… Mama, Papa's trying to keep me here again!"

"Steele! We already agreed to this last night!"

"Now remember to stay safe, and if you find a potential mate, wait to at least introduce him to your mother and I first. Also, if anyone attacks you, make sure the odds are in your favor, and-"

"Papa, you already told me this last night! And this morning! And during the walk over here!" Chulyin laughed as she started smiling at her dad before he finished hugging her. "I'll be alright. I'm fully grown, and I'm still going to be with family. Besides, even if I do get into trouble, Niju, Kiva, and little Unnuk will be sure to rip their throats out for you." The fully grown son of Niju and Kiva growled in irritation, having gotten his father's temper over time.

"I'm not little, heck I'm even older than you!" This caused Chulyin to laugh as she got nuzzled by her brother and mother one last time.

"I'll see you again next spring, ok?"

Steele nodded before frowning slightly as the group disappeared off into the distance. Ayanna smiled sadly at him before nuzzling him too. "It was no use trying to get her to not love the woods in the first place Steele. You know that," she said, watching with him the figures that no longer could be seen.

"I know…."

Legacy

"So what happened to Great Grandpa and Great Grandma then, Papa?" A little black, mostly wolf, pup with bright, icy blue eyes said, his brothers, sisters, cousins, and other wolf pups of the pack wagging their tails in excitement at an adult male in front of them, the splitting image of Chulyin. He chuckled, before smiling softly.

"They lived out until their fur turned grayish with age, seeing your Grandmother and our pack coming back here every spring with the nearby caribou, and seeing your Granduncle and your Grandaunt becoming parents, with their own line becoming more dog as ours, through your Grandmother, became more wolf. And, like anyone else in the world, they died, seeing their family expand," he said, some of the pups looking in shock at how calmly he was saying this. "They lived a good life to the end, young ones. And death is not always a sad thing, though it does bring us pain… They joined the spirits of after world, to guide and help us along the way now."

As some of the other wolf parents came by and joined their pups, the little black furred pup looked up to his father to see him gazing at the stars.

Steele smiled as he glanced down to look at his own children before leading off to bed.

* * *

><p>Ok, I now hate writing character deaths…. Unless it's Twilight. And yes, everyone, I did have Steele's grandson named after him.<p>

Now if you will excuse me and not kill me, I have to find tissues while posting some fan art up later.


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